DRIVERS in Jersey “are not getting the message” about obeying legal alcohol limits on the road, a senior judge has said with “at least” four Islanders appearing before the court every week for drink driving offences.
Magistrate Bridget Shaw’s comments follow a warning made by the police chief Robin Smith in January in response to spiking levels of drink driving across the Island.
In 2025 alone there were 116 arrests for driving under the influence of alcohol, resulting in 79 convictions.
On 9 December 2024, Jersey man Dylan John Pounds was jailed for 15 years for causing the death of Dean Lowe and his son Charlie in a drunken hit-and-run.
Mrs Shaw issued her stern reprimand during the sentencing yesterday of 59-year-old Nicholas O’Mara for failing to provide a specimen for analysis without reasonable excuse.
Centenier Shirley Madden, prosecuting, told the Magistrate’s Court that O’Mara had been reported to the police for driving erratically in St Helier on 13 March 2026.
“He was seen driving the wrong way into the slipway area outside the KFC at the Waterfront – there were concerns the driver was drunk”, she said.
Police attended the scene to find the vehicle “being reversed onto the main road” before intercepting the driver and turning off the ignition.
The prosecutor added: “The officers requested that the man submit a roadside test due to appearing under the influence and smelling of intoxicating liquor.
“He told officers he had drank alcohol four hours previously and consumed two drinks.
“[O’Mara] then failed a roadside breath test, was arrested and transported to police headquarters.”
At the station, the defendant then refused to provide a specimen for analysis.
The court heard that O’Mara told officers “I heard what you say, I understand, I do not agree with your terms and conditions”.
He later admitted to the Probation Service to drinking “just before” setting off to KFC.
The court heard that O’Mara has three relevant previous convictions for drink-driving related offences within the last ten years.
Advocate Olaf Blakeley, defending, said: “My client, whilst uncooperative with the police, was not in any way offensive or abusive to them, and he’s truly sorry and ashamed by what has happened.
“He accepts that he has a very poor relevant record and also accepts that he has severe issues with alcohol.
“He doesn’t shy away from any of this and understands, without any shadow of the doubt, that the court will be considering custody.”
But he asked for the court to grant a community service order instead of a custodial sentence.
Mrs Shaw, presiding, said O’Mara was to be sentenced for “driving with alcohol in your system and then refusing to cooperate with the police investigation into whether you had been driving over the limit.
“The serious aggravating feature in this case is your record: this is your third relevant offence within ten years and your fourth relevant offence overall.
“You have been offending with driving and alcohol for over 22 years and it is about time this stopped.”
She added: “It’s not just about you, but other people in the Island who do not seem to be getting the message about drink driving.
“It’s a very serious matter because it puts the public at risk because you are not fit to drive.
“There has, in the past, been one incredibly serious accident in this Island where two people lost their lives because of somebody who had been drinking and driving.
“There are persistent cases in this court of drinking and driving, or failing to provide a specimen.
“We seem to have at least four a week – sometimes more – it is wholly unacceptable, these drivers pose a risk to the public and it has to stop.”
Addressing O’Mara, Mrs Shaw said she would be handing him a custodial sentence “for your safety and the safety of the public”.
She told him: “You have not learned over 22 years following the court giving you a non-custodial sentence, but I am confident that you are going to learn now.”
He was sentenced to 11 months in prison and disqualified from driving for a period of five years.
