Drunk driver racing down motorway with eyes closed terrified road users who thought he was sleeping

One driver pulled alongside Paul Maddicks and drove parallel to him while shouting across the road to try and wake him up as they initially thought he was asleep.

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A cyber security expert left other motorists shocked by driving on a dual carriageway with his eyes closed and while he was nearly six times over the limit. One driver pulled alongside Paul Maddicks and drove parallel to him while shouting across the road to try and wake him up as they initially thought he was asleep.

The motorist had seen Maddicks, 48, swerving from side to side and coming close to hitting the kerb and they followed him for several miles as he refused to stop. When he pulled up at a red traffic light, the witness stopped and tried to prevent him from driving off, but Maddicks ignored them again and carried on.

The IT expert, who earns around £100,000 a year, was fined £2,666 and banned from driving for 20 months at Dundee Sheriff Court today. Sheriff John Rafferty said: "This was driving of very poor quality and with a very high reading. There will require to be a substantial period of disqualification."

Fiscal depute Nicola Caira said: "Witnesses described being three to four miles outside Dundee when they observed a car swerving all over the road and nearly hitting the kerb. The witness drove window to window and observed a male driver with his eyes shut.

"They thought the accused was sleeping and they started shouting and tooting the horn to get his attention. The accused started to speed up and slow down. The witness drew the conclusion that he must be drunk and they made a phone call to the police.

"As they arrived in Dundee, at traffic lights, they tried to stop the accused driving any further. They tried to get out to stop him, but the accused continued to drive."

The concerned motorist continued to follow Maddicks' car and keep police informed about where he was until a patrol vehicle was able to intercept him on the Kingsway. Ms Caira said: "Officers approached and could smell alcohol coming from the accused. They noted he had glazed eyes and his speech was slurred. He failed a roadside breath test."

Maddicks, from Arbroath, admitted driving with nearly six times the legal limit [127/22 mics] in his breath on the A90 on July 9 this year. He told the court that he had got drunk on wine at home and did not want his family to see the state he was in so had decided to go out for a drive instead.

Solicitor Robin Beattie, defending, said: "He has never had points on his licence or even a parking ticket. He accepts his guilt and offers nothing to minimise what happened. He is a full-time cyber security analyst. There is something of a dependency on alcohol. He had been drinking wine on his own.

"He knew his family were coming home and he didn't want them to see him that way. He made the error of getting in the car. He is trying to address his issues."

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