Tyreless And Legless

The M65 motorway in Lancashire, England, was the scene of an unusual traffic offence in September 2020 .....

Police Asked If Tyres Optional?

 .... when an off duty policeman saw a Fiat Punto driving down the motorway with sparks flying from all four wheels. 

This was because there were no tyres on any of the rims, and the car was barely clearing the road. 

The driver, a Burnley resident, Mr Alex Oates, was seen to stop on the motorway and try to push the vehicle along the inside emergency lane, before getting back in and setting off again. The police needless to say were called and arrested the driver for too many motoring offences to list, and also added drunken driving to the charges as Mr Oates failed the roadside breathalyser test (and gave a reading of 81 against the legal limit of 35 at the police station). 

When he sobered up, Mr Oates admitted to being "a moron". He said he had been drinking shots and late in a bar and that “like a moron”, he had decided he was sober enough to drive home, despite him being a provisional license holder, so not having insurance to drive unaccompanied. He didn't give any explanation in court as to why his car had no tyres on it.

He pleaded guilty in court to driving with excess alcohol, without insurance and other than in accordance with a driving licence. He was made subject to a community order for 18 months, with a 15 days rehabilitation activity requirement, and additionally 40 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and £34 victim surcharge. 

Perhaps Tyres Really Are Optional?

You would think that this was an isolated incident, but in February 2021 Tayside police in Scotland stopped a vehicle with no tyre on one of his car’s wheels. The driver was charged with dangerous driving, and was reported to the Procurator Fiscal. The vehicle was prohibited from being used on the road.

In January 2021 Greater Manchester Police spotted a man “struggling to drive” and realised that he was travelling on the M66 motorway with two missing front tyres .... they pulled him over. Needless to say he failed a roadside breathalyser and was found to have 196mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath – almost six times over the legal limit of 35mg.

And in July 2019, Police in Birmingham England arrested an unnamed 23-year-old driving with no tyre on one of the front wheels. He said that he had just popped out to get some milk and water from the shops. He was also found to be driving while uninsured, and the police reported him to the DVLA for having no insurance and a defective tyre ... they impounded his Ford Ka. 

Drunkenly driving defective vehicles, and also while uninsured are probably all on the rise in the UK, and the courts should really start imprisoning drivers who do this ....