A driver from Dubbo who blew more than two times the legal alcohol limit will spend nine months off the road as part of his punishment.
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Phillip Wayne McCarthy 36, got behind the wheel with a reading of .124 when pulled over by police one morning at Dunedoo.
He faced Dubbo Local Court on Wednesday and pleaded guilty to driving with a mid-range reading, a second offence within a five-year period.
Magistrate Gary Wilson convicted McCarthy and sentenced him to a 12-month community correction order to be of good behaviour.
After a nine-month disqualification period, McCarthy will also be subject to driving a vehicle with an alcohol interlock device for two years.
The self-employed man was driving a van east along Bolaro Street at Dunedoo about 9.40am on October 16.
Police were near the intersection of the Castlereagh Highway conducting stationary breath testing.
Stopping as directed, McCarthy told police he had consumed an unknown quantity of alcohol the previous night.
He returned a positive reading and was arrested and later charged.
The defence told the court McCarthy had a need for a licence for his employment.
It was a morning-after type offence, his client had had no passengers, and there was nothing about the manner of driving that came to the attention of police, the solicitor said.
But the defence conceded it was the third drink-driving matter on McCarthy’s record, and the second within the past five years.
The solicitor asked the court to consider the minimum disqualification, but the magistrate declined, instead imposing a longer period.
Mr Wilson said it was an “inexcusable offence”.
Alcohol interlocks are electronic breath testing devices linked to the ignition system. Drivers must provide a breath sample for analysis.
If a positive sample is detected, the vehicle will not start. Costs associated with alcohol interlocks must be paid by the participant.
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