A man who refused to take an evidential breath test after being spotted driving erratically has been banned from driving for four years.
Officers from Devon & Cornwall Police’s No Excuse team spotted Connor Dennison’s red BMW weaving across two lanes on the A390 between Treliske Hospital and Threemilestone in Truro on April 13, 2023.
Video footage from the unmarked police vehicle shows the moment officers pulled Dennison over. He was breathalysed at the roadside, giving a breath test of 78 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – more than double the prescribed limit of 35 microgrammes.
However, when he was arrested and taken to Camborne police station to provide an evidential breath test, he refused and was subsequently charged with failing to provide a specimen for analysis.
Dennison, aged 24 from Truro, appeared in court on Tuesday, June 13 and pleaded guilty to the charge. He was disqualified from driving for 48 months and given a 10-day community order with a rehabilitation requirement.
The court also ordered Dennison to pay a £323 fine, £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.
Chief Inspector Ben Asprey, Head of Roads Policing in Devon and Cornwall and chair of the Vision Zero South West tactical tasking group, said: “The substantial length of the driving ban in this case should act as a warning to others.
“Driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is one of the biggest causes of fatal and serious collisions, known as the ‘Fatal Five’.
“If you get behind the wheel after drinking or taking drugs, you are putting your own life – as well as the lives of innocent members of the public – at risk.
“We receive regular intelligence about roads being used by drink and drug drivers and coordinated our patrols to target these areas.
“Drink-driving carries a mandatory driving ban of at least 12 months, which may lead to you losing your job, your livelihood and potentially much more. It’s just not worth it.”
Up to May 30, 2023, there were 790 arrests for drink driving in Devon and Cornwall, with over 500 giving evidential tests that are over the prescribed limit. During the same period, 904 drivers were tested for drugs (cocaine and cannabis) with 417 arrests made.
Vision Zero is a shared commitment between a number of organisations across Devon and Cornwall to cut the number of deaths and serious injuries in the region to zero. Partners include Devon and Cornwall Police, Cornwall Council, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust, South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and Cornwall Air Ambulance.