A DRIVER who crashed into the back of another car at a road junction in Cross Hills was more than two times over the alcohol limit.
Rachel Sellars, 35, had been driving without her lights on, despite it being just after 10pm on December 7, last year, heard Skipton Magistrates Court.
A motorist in front of her on Keighley Road, Cross Hills, put on his hazard lights in an attempt to alert her and because he was concerned she was driving too close to his vehicle, the court heard on Friday last week.
When he stopped at a junction, she drove her Vauxhall Corsa into the back of the other car. Both drivers got out of their vehicles and Sellars asked for a glass of wine.
The police were called, she provided a positive roadside test and was taken to the police station where a blood test revealed she had 208 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80.
Sellars, of Heywood Drive, Steeton, who admitted drink-driving, was ashamed and embarrassed at what she had done, the court heard in mitigation. A single mother, she had been faced with medical issues over the last year; she had been drinking on the day, had gone to bed, and had thought the alcohol was out of her system when she had driven.
It had been a 'low impact' collision and Sellars had waited patiently for the police to arrive and had co-operated with officers.
She previously had a clean driving licence, and the loss of it meant she would not be able to continue her part time work as a voluntary support worker.
The magistrates reminded her of the dangers of drink-driving and banned her from driving for 28 months. She will also have to pay a fine of £200 and pay a surcharge of £80 and costs of £85.
If she completes a drink-drivers rehabilitation course, her ban will be reduced by 28 weeks.
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