A former colleague and friend, Sarah Smith, was jailed last week for pleading guilty to drink-driving. To make matters worse she was driving a coach at the time. The vehicle in question - an overall yellow liveried Leyland Tiger/Alexander TE vehicle for Judds Travel - was reported by numerous passengers who alighted early as the feared she was drunk and feared for their safety.
She was operating Service 337 between Coates - Whittlesey - Peterborough one evening in April when Police stopped her vehicle in Queensgate bus station, Peterborough after they witnessed her nearly hit a wall. As the article (link at the bottom) states, they found the vehicle being driven with its windscreen wipers on when it wasn't raining.
Sarah seemed to be a troubled sole in my opinion; that doesn't make her dishonest or in any way a lesser person than you or I, but it is unforgivable to take to the road behind the wheel of a 9 tonne coach when you're drunk. Despite being sentenced to 2 months imprisonment, if she volunteers to wear a tag she'll be out in between 3 - 5 weeks. She serves no threat to the public. She will never be allowed to drive a PCV again and will need to undertake two driving lessons and a Road Safety Seminar after 20 months before being allowed to drive a car again.
She is the sort of person who came across as being able to learn from her mistakes and no doubt she'll have the time and space to do so in this instance.
More here: http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/viewarticle.aspx?sectionid=845&articleid=2873397
