Drunk motorcycle instructor fell from bike three times during lesson - Times Online
A motorcycle instructor who was so drunk that she repeatedly fell off her bike during a lesson has been banned from driving for three years.
Sandra Kenyon, 46, fell from her bike three times as a pupil from the Ridesafe Motorcycle School attempted to follow her through central Bradford.
A court was told that soon after the start of last month?s lesson, Kenyon dropped her motorcycle and needed help to climb back on. She fell off again as she approached a set of traffic lights.
Her pupil, Philip Hopkins, arrived at a roundabout to discover that he had lost sight of his instructor. Turning back he found Kenyon lying on the ground, surrounded by onlookers, complaining that her leg was hurting.
When police officers arrived, they opened her motorcycle jacket and discovered two French brandy bottles. One was empty and the other was three-quarters full.
Magistrates in Bingley were told that Kenyon had 131 microgrammes (mcg) of alcohol in 100ml of breath ? almost four times the legal limit of 35mcg.
The mother of two, from Hipperholme, West Yorkshire, who had worked for the Ridesafe school for nine years and was employed on a subcontractual basis, subsequently lost her job. Kenyon pleaded guilty to riding a motorcycle with excess alcohol. As well as being banned from driving, she was ordered to complete 200 hours of community work and given a two-year supervision order that includes alcohol rehabilitation treatment.
John Parker, the chairman of the bench, told her that she had narrowly avoided a custodial sentence. ?It was not only a high reading on the breathalyser test, but you were in a position of trust when the offence took place. It was a busy period and there were lots of other road users in the vicinity,? he said.
Nadine Clough, for the prosecution, told the court that when Kenyon was interviewed by the police she said that she needed help and was suffering from depression.
Christopher Bird, in mitigation, said that she was a competent and popular instructor who was ?well regarded by her pupils and her employers? until the offence happened. In a letter to the court, Kenyon said: ?I can only apologise to the people I have hurt and embarrassed. I?m truly ashamed for what I have done. Any counselling you impose will be a blessing.?
Roger Stanley, of Ridesafe, said his company had very high standards and that he had been shocked and disgusted to learn of Kenyon?s conduct.
Comment