A Dubbo mother caught drunk behind the wheel while three times the legal limit, says she was driving home out of "convenience" after her partner was kicked out of the pub.
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Jessica Reid, 27, fronted Dubbo Local Court on Wednesday where she pleaded guilty to high-range drink driving.
Police were patrolling Dubbo when they saw a white Subaru Forester travelling south on Brisbane Street before later turning into Amy Lane and coming to a complete stop in the middle of the road about 3am on June 25 this year.
As officers pulled up behind the vehicle, a man got out of the passenger seat and began urinating when police spoke to Reid who was in the driver's seat.
After returning a positive reading, Reid was told she was placed under arrest and would be taken back to Dubbo police station. Police said they noticed Reid's eyes were red and bloodshot and her breath smelt of alcohol.
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Reid told officers she had four Smirnoff double black vodkas between 9pm and 12am at the Pastoral Hotel prior to driving.
She was taken back to the station where she returned a reading of 0.168 - three times the legal limit for a fully licenced driver. Her licence was immediately suspended.
In court on Wednesday defence lawyer Arthur Nguyen said his client - a mother of three - had come before the court as a person of prior good character.
While Mr Nguyen conceded the incident was aggravated by the fact Reid was on a P2 licence at the time of the offence, he argued the matter was at the lower end of objective seriousness.
"It's a matter where she comes to the attention of police for a random breath test. It was 2am, there was no one else on the road," he said.
Mr Nguyen said Reid had a strong need for a licence to drop her children to school and to buy groceries, and argued there was "limited" public transport particularly in West Dubbo.
"Dubbo is in a rural, regional area, it's a situation where there is limited public transport," he told the court.
"She knows the limit is zero, but she tells me she drove home out of convenience after her partner was kicked out of the pub. It's the first mistake she's made."
In court documents, officers at the time of the offence said Reid was forthcoming with police and remorseful for her actions.
Magistrate Mal Macpherson convicted and sentenced Reid to a 15-month conditional release order to be of good behaviour. She was also disqualified from driving for six months and ordered to install an interlock device for 24 months.