Olbrychski fined for drink driving

The award-winning Polish actor was stopped in Podkowa Leśna, near Warsaw, for a routine check, RMF FM reported.

Olbrychski has paid a fine of PLN 5,000 (about USD 1,400) and lost his licence for three years. He also paid an extra PLN 5,000 to a fund to support the victims of car accidents.

The actor allegedly drank the previous evening and was stopped by the police in the afternoon.

"You have to be very careful when you dine into the small hours of the night. You should then take a breathalyser test at noon the next day. [Daniel] got up at noon, ate breakfast, did gymnastics, got into the car and was stopped by the [police]. He completely did not realise that there was alcohol in his blood," the actor's wife Krystyna Demska-Olbrychska said.

The actor has asked to appear on broadcaster TVN on Friday to make an announcement about the perils of drink driving.

"If you get hit on the head, there is no point in hiding your head in the sand. You have to speak out, and there is nothing to be ashamed of. Daniel is well-known person to the public, so his warning directed at drivers makes sense," Demska-Olbrychska added.

Seventy year-old Olbrychski has played in over one hundred movies, including major roles in films by Wajda, Lelouch, Michalkov and Schlondorff, alongside such stars as Marina Vlady, Michel Piccolo, Burt Lancaster and Leslie Caron.

He has also made a name in the theatre. His many distinctions include the French Legion of Honour.

The limit in Poland for driving is 0.02 percent, over which a driving license can be taken away from six months and up to three years and a prison term of up to one month. (jh/rg)