The former Progressive Labour Party branch chairman of constituency 34 has been fined and banned from the road for drink-driving.

Appearing in Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Makai Dickerson, of Sandys, pleaded guilty to driving while over the legal blood-alcohol limit in the early hours of yesterday.

The court heard that the 34-year-old, who stepped down as chairman and member-at- large for the central committee last week in protest at the election of David Burt as party leader, was caught on CCTV riding east on Crow Lane in Paget at high speed at about 12.35am.

He failed to navigate the roundabout, crashing into the traffic circle with his motorbike landing on top of him. Dickerson was assisted by a member of the public and when police

officers arrived at the scene, they saw him getting back on his bike. They noticed that he smelled of alcohol, his speech was slurred and his eyes were glazed.

When asked if he had been drinking, he replied: “I’ve had a few.” But he added that he could not remember what he had been drinking.

Dickerson was arrested and taken to Hamilton Police Station, where it was determined that he had 233 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood — almost three times the legal limit of 80mg.

In court, Dickerson apologised, saying he had “used poor judgment” and usually does not drink and drive. Dickerson also noted that he works late nights and his motorbike is his only means of getting to work.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo, however, handed him a $1,200 fine and disqualified him from driving all vehicles for 18 months.

Dickerson ran as a PLP election candidate in 2012 but stepped down on November 28, days after it was revealed that he had been arrested and found in possession of cannabis. The case was later dropped, with Dickerson accepting a caution for the offence instead.

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