Brittany man drove roundabout 17 times to avoid police
A 73-year old man in Côtes-d’Armor has been sentenced after a town-centre chase and attempting to escape by circling the same roundabout 17 times.
Police chased his car just after midnight on October 30 2017, after seeing him repeatedly accelerating his car rapidly before braking suddenly in the middle of the town of Saint-Brieuc, according to local newspaper Ouest-France.
He then failed to stop for the police sirens, and performed 17 'laps' of the same roundabout, apparently in an attempt to escape capture, before finally stopping.
Police said he was obviously under the influence of alcohol but the man refused a blood-alcohol test and later claimed to “not have heard the police sirens”.
On January 10, the septuagenarian was charged with “driving at an excessive speed in the circumstances”, “refusing to comply with a police stop request,” “refusal to submit to a breathalyser test”, and “driving while under the obvious influence of alcohol”.
The correctional tribunal revoked his driving licence, ordered him to pay a €150 fine plus gave him a 90-day jour amende of €7 - which means that if he fails to pay the total €630 fine (it is paid at the end of the 90 days) he will go to jail to wipe out the penalty.
In 2012 the man was charged with a similar offence and his driving licence withdrawn. His lawyer said he had lost only one point from his licence at the time of the most recent incident.
