As a specialist in drink driver car insurance, we are always interested in news stories of driving falling foul of the law. A female motorist led police on a chase around the Blackwood area of Newport on January 12th and has now been prosecuted as a result of her actions.

The South Wales Argus reports 25-year-old Lindsey Bidgway came up before Newport Crown Court this week after she was detained for failing to stop when asked by officers and also for being almost double the legal alcohol limit at the time of her arrest.

Ms Bidgway was spotted by officers after she swerved her vehicle in front of a marked police vehicle. However, when she was signalled to pull over, the driver failed to do so and instead proceeded to lead the police around the city.

Her behaviour was extremely dangerous both to herself and other road users and pedestrians, as on one occasion she ran through a red light at a junction, as well as driving on the wrong side of the road and ignoring a number of ‘give way’ signs.

Due to the erratic driving and the potential for serious injury, officers ended the pursuit and instead later arrested the woman after she had stopped, believing she had evaded the authorities.

Upon her arrest, breathalyser tests revealed she had almost twice the legal alcohol limit on her breath – 60 mg of alcohol in 100 ml of breath (the limit is 35 mg).

As a result of her careless and dangerous behaviour, Ms Bidgway was ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid community work, as well as being banned from driving for one year and also receiving a seven-month suspended jail sentence for two years. She will probably need to seek out specialist drink driver car insurance at the end of her ban.

At the time of her appearance in court, the motorist had also been disqualified from driving after receiving three points on her licence as a result of a recent speeding offence – she held 11 points at the time of her initial arrest.

Earlier this month, the Whitby Gazette also reported a similar case in which a female motorist was stopped by authorities after she was reported by staff at a restaurant in York for being over the limit.

Kathy Crofts had been eating at the restaurant, but when staff noticed she got into her car to drive after consuming a large amount of alcohol with her meal they contacted the police.

Officers pulled her over on a nearby road and following a breathalyser test it emerged the 54-year-old had 120 mg of alcohol on her breath.

She subsequently appeared before Scarborough Magistrates’ Court and was sentenced to a 12-week prison sentence suspended for one year and was disqualified from driving for four years.

Both of these cases highlight the importance of avoiding drinking when getting behind the wheel of a vehicle and the serious consequences this behaviour can have.

Motorists need to remember the dangers of alcohol and should not mix drinking and driving. However, anyone who in the past has fallen foul of the law in this area could achieve savings on their drink driver car insurance by getting in touch with the team at GSI Insurance Services (Southern) Limited.