Welsh Rugby Shame Over Golf Buggy Drink Driving Fiasco
Andy Powell, one of the stars of the Welsh Rugby team was taken into custody by South Wales Police in the early hours of Sunday morning and charged with “driving a mechanically propelled vehicle whilst unfit through drink” under the Road Traffic Act 1988. He was discovered drink driving a stolen golf buggy on the hard shoulder of the M4 just 3 miles from his club’s hotel.
The back-row forward was arrested just before 6am at a motorway service station just three miles from the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel in which his team were staying. Powell had reportedly taken the buggy, capable of just 15mph from outside the hotel in a drunken mission to find food as the hotel did not serve breakfast until 7am.
A spokesman for the Welsh rugby union has stated that Powell has been “suspended from the squad for behaviour contrary to the squad’s code of conduct”.
It is not uncommon for athletes to avoid prosecution especially for driving offences but the circumstances of Powell’s arrest make for a very grey are;. There is no clear definition of a ‘mechanically propelled vehicle’ and there is no strict legal alcohol limit for operating any of them.
Top driving offence lawyer Nick Freeman, nicknamed ‘Mr Loophole’ commented on the anomalies that could occur without definitive guidelines surrounding the operation of vehicles not designed for the road.
Although Powell is due in court on March 2nd, it is unclear whether the prosecution will stick with such vague legal boundaries and it could be argued that he broke no law with his driving licence.
Despite the bright outlook for Powell in regards to his drink driving offence, for which he is due in court on 2nd march, he could still be charged for the theft of the golf buggy from the Vale of Glamorgan Hotel if they choose to press charges but there is no comment on the matter so far.
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