17-MONTH BAN FOR CARISBROOKE MAN WHO TOOK CLIO ON NEW YEAR’S EVE TEST DRIVE

34-year-old Louis Dauncey has been banned from driving for 17 months after being caught test driving a car he was looking to buy whilst drunk, driving without a licence and driving without insurance. The Isle of Wight Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday how Dauncey was followed by Police on New Year’s Eve – 31st December last year – as they noted he was speeding between Coppins Bridge and St George’s Way in Newport. When the vehicle came to a natural stop on nearby Godric Road, at around 20:55, Police approached the driver. Dauncey explained he was test driving the X-reg Renault Clio – and that the owner lived in the house they had stopped outside. The court heard from prosecutor Liz Miller that checks revealed that Dauncey only had a provisional licence and that his passenger – his own father – did not have a licence to qualify him to sit beside a learner driver. Furthermore, Dauncey did not have insurance to drive the vehicle and was not displaying L-plates. Police conducted a roadside breath test that revealed the 34-year-old was also drink driving. He went on to blow 60 on the evidential breathalyser at Newport Police Station. Defending, Oscar Vincent said that his client – who had not appeared in the courts since 2015 – had had a drink much earlier in the day and felt fine to drive. Mr Vincent explained it was Dauncey’s intention to buy the car and had arranged to meet at the owner’s address – despite it being dark and on New Year’s Eve. Magistrates handed Dauncey a 17-month driving ban and fined him £120, as well as ordering him to pay £85 costs and a £48 surcharge.