A 35-year-old man appeared at Harrogate Magistrates on Monday 8 January 2018 and pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath specimen for analysis, after providing a positive roadside breath test for alcohol.
Diego Miguel Ferrera Filipe of Claro Road, Harrogate was handed a 40 month driving ban and was ordered to pay over £700 in fines and costs and to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
Filipe was stopped by police in the early hours of Sunday 16 July 2017, on the A59 near Knaresborough, after a member of the public dialled 999 to reported a car driving erratically on the A648 near Huby.
The member of the public was able to provide the relevant details to enable police to trace and stop Filipe.
When located, Filipe failed a roadside breath test and was arrested on suspicion of driving with alcohol over the specified limit. He was taken back to Harrogate Police Station, where he failed to provide a breath specimen for analysis and was subsequently charged with the offence.
Filipe, who has a previous conviction for drink driving in May 2015, had been back on the road for just ten months, after serving a 14 month driving ban for that offence.
Commenting on the sentence, Traffic Constable David Minto said:
Firstly I’d like to thank the member of the public who contacted police to report Filipe’s driving. I’m sure her quick actions prevented a potentially devastating incident from occurring that morning.
It’s clear to see that Diego Filipe is a repeat offender and has not learned from his previous drink driving conviction. To have been stopped for the same offence, after only having his licence back for ten months beggars belief. He clearly has no regard for the safety of others on the road, or himself.
This sentence should be a stark reminder to him and other motorists of a like mind, that this irresponsible and selfish behaviour will not be tolerated on the roads of North Yorkshire.
