Simon Scott Jansen sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court for drink driving
A North Queensland mechanic and rally car driver has been caught drink-driving while behind the wheel of a customer’s car.
A North Queensland mechanic and rally car driver has been caught drink-driving while behind the wheel of a customer’s car.
Automotive Repair Centre (ARC) owner Simon Scott Jansen, 54, appeared in Townsville Magistrates Court on Friday after he was caught nearly twice the legal limit.
Police prosecutor Georgie Kiloh said that on November 21 officers pulled Jansen over and a roadside breath test showed he had a blood-alcohol content of 0.099, just below twice the legal limit.
Regarding Jansen’s minimal traffic history, Ms Kiloh conceded it was “out of character”.
Jansen, the owner of the Garbutt mechanic shop, did the “right thing for the wrong reasons”, his defence lawyer Andrew Peel said.
“When customers’ cars are ready for collection, he parks them across the road and keeps the keys in his reception,” he said.
On this particular day, Jansen had knocked off work and gone to have a few drinks with his colleagues when he realised a customer’s car hadn’t been collected and needed to be moved into the business premises.
“He was intercepted in his business premises, parked in a car and made admissions that he had been drinking but was only moving the car across the road,” Mr Peel said.
Jansen pleaded guilty to driving over the middle alcohol limit but not over the high alcohol limit.
He was fined $500 and disqualified from driving for one month.
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Originally published as Simon Scott Jansen sentenced in Townsville Magistrates Court for drink driving
