A Dubbo tradesman who drove with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.091 has been fined and disqualified when he appeared in court the day after his birthday.
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Timothy Davis Michael Barrett, 27, was behind the wheel of a vehicle on the wrong side of a road at Dunedoo on Boxing Day when police spotted him and carried out a breath test.
He pleaded guilty to mid-range drink-driving, an offence that carries a maximum penalty of a $2200 or jail time or both.
In Dubbo Local Court magistrate Claire Girotto convicted Barrett, fined him $150 and disqualified him for six months.
The defence told the court it had been Barrett's 27th birthday the day before he faced his sentence.
The court heard he had committed a drink-driving offence in 2007.
The defence submitted that while Barrett had been on the wrong side of the road on Boxing Day in 2014, an aggravating feature, he had been attempting to do the right manoeuvre to take his car from the front to the back of his friend's property.
Barrett had had no intention of driving but his ute was "his office" and he did not want to leave it out, the solicitor said.
His licence was important to him and he had been without it for about five months from the time he was pulled over, the court heard.
He had since completed the traffic offenders program and was aware it was his last chance, the solicitor said.
The magistrate said she took into account the guilty plea, the facts, and submissions made in fining Barrett and disqualifying him from driving for six months.
The disqualification period was backdated and will expire on June 25.
