A man who drove up Dubbo's Macquarie Street while under the influence of alcohol has been placed on a two-year good behaviour bond, fined and had his licence suspended.
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The 28-year-old offered a plea of guilty to a mid-range drink-driving charge in Dubbo Local Court and was convicted.
The court then heard of the man's brain injury after a serious assault, medical conditions, and other factors that led to the magistrate saying it was a complicated sentencing matter.
Facts tendered to the court revealed it was the man's third mid-range prescribed content of alcohol (PCA) offence since he began driving, but the first since 2006.
Police doing foot patrols in Macquarie Street shortly before 1am heard a vehicle lose traction and observed it appeared to be travelling at high speed.
They pulled the driver over and he returned a positive reading after a random breath test.
Arrested, he was taken to the police station and underwent breath analysis.
The man said he had consumed one Hahn mid-strength beer at 6pm, but he also told police he took medication for epileptic fits and high blood pressure.
When asked if the medications contained warnings about consuming alcohol, the man said yes.
Vehicle traffic was light but pedestrian traffic was high due to it being outside a licensed premises, the tendered facts said.
At the court, the defence submitted the man had sustained a brain injury after he was assaulted and then suffered a breakdown.
Since then he had resided with his parents and received a disability support pension, the court heard.
He had a four-year-old child but they had minimal contact.
The 28-year-old had pleaded guilty and attended a traffic offenders program, the defence submitted.
Magistrate Andrew Eckhold noted the plea entered at the first opportunity, for which the man was entitled to the maximum discount of his penalty.
But the magistrate said it was quite a serious offence and that it was the man's third in eight years.
The man was sentenced to a good behaviour bond for two years, fined $300 and ordered to be under the supervision of the Community Corrections office at Dubbo.
He was disqualified from driving for eight months, with Mr Eckhold saying the traffic offenders program would have highlighted the consequences of such actions.
"And you having been the victim of crime, the last thing you would want to do is hurt someone else," Mr Eckhold said, and the man nodded.
