Scotland: Jail term for drunk train driver

[John Ashworth]

Train driver jailed for drinking a bottle of whisky while on duty

Published Date: 23 February 2010
The Scotsman
By VICTORIA WELDON

A TRAIN driver who drank a bottle of whisky while on duty has been jailed.

First ScotRail driver Richard Whitworth had been driving trains in and out of Glasgow's Queen Street station for around six hours before he was caught in August last year.

The 33-year-old had earlier caused a delay after falling asleep in the driver's cabin while a train was stopped at Cumbernauld station but bosses believed he was fit to carry on working.

He was later arrested by British Transport Police after the manager at Queen Street noticed him stumbling out of the staff locker room heading for his next train.

Jailing him for 135 days at Glasgow Sheriff Court yesterday, Sheriff Daniel Convery said the case raised "profoundly disturbing questions" about the monitoring of train drivers.

He said: "The potential for death and destruction does not bear thinking about. In my view this case raises profoundly disturbing questions regarding the safety of the public and the arrangements for monitoring the fitness of train drivers."

At an earlier hearing, Whitworth, of Kingsley Avenue, Stenhousemuir, admitted drinking while working as a train driver on 1 August last year.

Prosecutor Bob McCallum told the court that Whitworth bought a bottle of whisky on his way to start work at 3pm that day.

Mr McCallum said: "Mr Whitworth was approached at 7:15pm regarding a delay to a train and he explained that he had fallen asleep.

"At that time he appeared fit to continue and he did so.

"Later that night platform staff at Queen Street station contacted the manager at 10:17pm because the driver for the 10:19pm service to Alloa hadn't turned up yet.

"The manager then went in search of the accused and found him coming out of a locker room.

"He noticed that as the accused left the room he stumbled.

"The manager then accompanied him towards the train and became more concerned about his condition and prevented him from driving the train. A drink and drugs screening was carried out and this resulted in a reading of 100 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath – approximately three times the limit."

"Transport police were called and Mr Whitworth was arrested. A bottle of whisky was discovered in his bag which was nearly empty."

Whitworth was then interviewed and told police that he had been drinking since 4pm.

Officers also asked if he had driven a train since he started drinking and he replied "yes, two".

Defence lawyer Robert Fraser told the court that his client is "deeply ashamed" of what he did and has since resigned.

Mr Fraser added: "Mr Whitworth has suffered from a drink problem for some period of time before this incident but has since taken steps to address this. At the moment he is being prescribed medication to deal with his alcohol consumption, which makes him violently ill if he takes any.

"He has managed to get a new job at a call centre and his wife – who is a nurse – is expecting their first child in April this year."


Jail term for drunk train driver

Page last updated at 15:44 GMT, Monday, 22 February 2010
BBC

A train driver who drank a bottle of whisky while on duty has been jailed for 135 days.

Richard Whitworth, 33, was three times over the alcohol limit when he was arrested at Glasgow's Queen Street Station in August last year.

The city's Sheriff Court heard how the First Scotrail driver was caught after stumbling out of a staff locker room.

Sheriff Daniel Convery said the case raised "disturbing questions" about the monitoring of train drivers.

At an earlier hearing, Whitworth, from Stenhousemuir, near Falkirk, admitted drinking while working as a train driver - an offence under the Transport and Works Act.

The court heard how he had bought a bottle of whisky on his way to start work at 1500 GMT on 1 August 2009.

During the course of his shift he drank most of the bottle.

The court was told that, before being caught, Whitworth had caused a delay after falling asleep in the driver's cabin while a train was stopped at Cumbernauld station.

He was allowed to continue with his shift as managers believed he was fit to carry on working.

Whitworth, who has since resigned from his job, was caught after a manager noticed him stumbling out of a locker room as he was making his way to another train.

The manager prevented him from driving the train after becoming concerned about his condition.

Drink test

British Transport Police were called after a drink and drugs screening test revealed that Whitworth was over the limit.

During questioning, Whitworth said he had been drinking since the start of his shift and had driven two trains that day.

Passing sentence, Sheriff Convery said: "You indicated that earlier in your shift you fell asleep in your train cab and that your supervisor considered you fit to finish your shift.

"When you were finally prevented from re-boarding the train you were almost three times over the prescribed limit.

"The potential for death and destruction does not bear thinking about.

"In my view this cases raises profoundly disturbing questions regarding the safety of the public and the arrangements for monitoring the fitness of train drivers."