Disqualified drink driver jailed after being caught behind the wheel

A drink driver has been jailed for seven months after crashing his car into another vehicle in Kettering despite being disqualified from driving.

Northamptonshire Police Response officers came across Jack Michael Robin Oliver driving a white Vauxhall Grandland X car along London Road in Kettering, on January 21 this year.

Due to the poor manner of his driving, the officers followed Oliver for a short distance before activating the blue lights on their police car and signalling for the 27-year-old to pull over.

Oliver failed to stop and instead drove further down the road before drifting across the road, clipping the curb, and colliding with a parked car. As officers approached the car, he jumped into the rear seat and laid across his three passengers.

Once in custody, he provided a breath sample of 81 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35 microgrammes – and he was charged with driving a motor vehicle when alcohol above the limit.

Further checks showed Oliver was also disqualified until he had passed his driving test and he was charged with driving whilst disqualified as well as driving on a road without due care and attention.

Oliver of St Johns Road, Kettering, pleaded guilty to all three offences and on August 14, at Northampton Crown Court he was sentenced to seven months imprisonment, fined £187 and disqualified from driving for a further 15 months.

Arresting officer PC Matt Taylor of the North LPA Response team said: “Jack Oliver was already disqualified from driving, showing a complete disregard of the law and I am pleased the courts have dealt with him robustly.

“It was more by luck than judgement that Oliver’s actions did not cause a serious collision. He not only put his own life at risk but also those of his passengers and other innocent road users. Getting behind the wheel – more than two times over the limit – is dangerous and reckless.

“We have a duty to protect law-abiding road users from those who have been caught flouting the law, having previously been sentenced for traffic-related offences, and we will take action against anyone who fails to comply with a court order.”

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.