Drink driver banned after driving wrong way down Northampton dual carriageway

A 49-year-old woman who drove the wrong way down a busy Northampton dual carriageway has been banned from driving after pleading guilty to being nearly three times over the drink drive limit.

Two Northamptonshire Police officers spotted Ruth Mwangi driving a Peugeot 3008 against the flow of traffic along Danes Camp Way in the early hours of Saturday, October 14 this year.

When stopped, Mwangi, of Doulton Close in Redhouse, Swindon, told the officers that she was lost and was trying to drive home to Wiltshire – a 70-mile journey which would have taken her nearly two hours to complete.

However, when she was asked to get out of the car, Mwangi was unable to stand, and she was arrested on suspicion of driving a motor vehicle when the alcohol level was above the legal limit.

Once in custody, she provided a breath sample of 90 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35 micrograms – and she was subsequently charged with the drink driving offence and bailed to appear before magistrates.

Last Tuesday (October 31), at Northampton Magistrates’ Court Mwangi pleaded guilty to the single charge and was disqualified from driving for 36 months and ordered to pay £114 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

Arresting officer PC Tom Clarke of Northamptonshire Police said: “If we hadn’t come across Ruth Mwangi by chance, she would have continued to attempt to drive home to Swindon.

“A 70-mile journey in which she would have needed to negotiate major trunk roads as well as many rural routes. She not only put her own life in incredible danger but also risked the lives of other innocent road users.

“Getting behind the wheel – nearly three times over the limit – is purely selfish and reckless and could have had devastating consequences not only for Mwangi but for her loved ones left behind.”

Tragically in 2022, after being involved in a road collision in Northamptonshire, 36 people never returned home safely. Reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads remains a priority for the Force and our partners at the Northamptonshire Safer Roads Alliance.