- Rookie driver Shane Scott wrecked his car two months after passing driving test
- He crashed into a milk float after being best man at his brother’s wedding – and three days after the latest don’t drink and drive campaign ended
- He said, “I don’t know why I got in the car. I had paid for a hotel room and didn’t know my way home”
- PCC Martin Surl said, “It’s proof that when you are driving, you should never risk a drink at any time”.
It is a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks the warning not to drink and drive ‘doesn’t mean me’.
There is nothing to suggest Shane Scott thought he was the exception to the rule. His problem was he had drunk so much, he was incapable of making the right decision.
That is the only explanation why three days after the end of this summer’s anti-drink drive campaign; just two months after passing his driving test and only a few hours after he was best man at his brother’s wedding, Shane got behind the wheel of his Renault Clio and tried to drive the relatively short distance home.
It is also why he failed to get there.
Liverpool fan Shane, aged 30 who lives and works for an agricultural tractor part maker in Gloucester, is telling his story to persuade others not to follow his example.
He said, “Because I was best man, I was pretty nervous and I started drinking early. I think I had six cans at my brother’s house while he was getting ready. When we got to the hotel I was on pints of lager, the strong stuff. Then, I think I had a couple of Jager Bombs; there was wine at the table and more drinks in the evening.
“When everyone started going to their hotel rooms – I paid £80 for a room for me and my partner – for some reason, I just got in the car. I don’t know why, I still had my ‘P’ plates on as I was a nervous driver.
“I couldn’t drive back ‘cause I didn’t know my way. Never been on the roads like that. I just go as far as Bristol Road to work and that only takes about 10 minutes and that’s it.
“I remember driving; then I think I must have blacked out because I heard a massive bang. I can remember lots of flashing lights but I don’t know whether I walked to the ambulance or I was on a stretcher”.
Within minutes of leaving the wedding venue, Shane had collided with a milk float. Breathalyser tests showed he was more than twice over the drink drive limit.
His car was wrecked and although neither he nor the milkman was seriously hurt, Shane suffered a number of injuries to his head, neck and chest. He is also ashamed to admit he behaved badly and wouldn’t co-operate with police or hospital staff, “I wasn’t very helpful. Whether I was drunk and in shock I kept trying to sit up in the bed, grinding my teeth when they were trying to assess my injuries.
“They were only doing their jobs and trying to help and I think I ended up discharging myself which was very silly. Then it was back to the police station.
“The news was broken to my family the next morning when they were sitting down for breakfast at the hotel. They all knew my car had gone ‘cause they were looking for me but they had no idea where I was.
“I was in the cell and every time they opened that hatch they could have said ‘Mr. Scott you’ve killed someone; you’re being done for causing death by dangerous driving; murder, manslaughter’. Every time that hatch went down my heart just sank. I sweated. It was horrible.
“Now I just feel sorry, stupid and selfish. I was so drunk I could have put my 10 year old daughter or my partner in the car. It was selfish and reckless.
“I’ve made a really bad mistake and I hope talking about what happened to me will help in some way”.
Gloucestershire’s Road Safety Partnership’s summer drink drive campaign is an annual operation which this year ran from 10 June – 10 August under Police and Crime Commissioner Martin Surl’s priority for more safe and social driving. Similar campaigns run through the Christmas and New Year period.
Mr. Surl said, “Seasonal campaigns are timed to coincide with the periods of the year when our research shows motorists are more likely to try and flout the law.
“This case is further evidence that when you are driving, you should never risk a drink at any time”.
Shane Scott was charged by the police and is due in court later in the month.
