A 20-year-old Canowindra man has been fined $700, disqualified from driving for six months, followed by an interlock period of 24 months and given a nine month supervised intensive corrections order at Cowra Local Court.
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Lachlan Jones of Gaskill Street, Canowindra, was before the court charged with driving with a mid range PCA, not complying with the conditions of his interlock licence and not displaying P plates.
According to police facts, around 10.45pm on December 31, 2019 police were patrolling around Wyangala Dam when they observed Jones driving a vehicle on the access road for Ski Beach.
Police stopped Jones for a random side breath test, with Jones telling police, "You got me. I have had heaps to drink".
His test returned a positive result and Jones was taken for a breath analysis which returned a reading of 0.133 grams of alcohol in 210 litres of breath.
In relation to his drinking, he told police he had consumed an unknown number of beers.
He told police the vehicle he had been driving was a friend's and he had driven it so he could by-pass his interlock condition.
At the time of offending, Jones was also not displaying his P2 licence plates.
Jones's solicitor Mr Johnson told the court his client didn't think he was driving on a roadway area, admitting it wasn't much of an excuse given the fact Jones was supposed to be driving vehicle with an interlock device fitted.
In sentencing Magistrate Micheal O'Brien said the incident could have been avoided had Jones been driving the interlock fitted vehicle because he wouldn't have been able to drink any alcohol.
"As a P2 licence holder he's not to have any alcohol in his blood stream," he said.
"Yet here he is, not far off the high range, what is it about not drink driving he doesn't understand?
"His sentencing assessment report says he's at low risk of re-offending but clearly this man needs intervention.
"If anyone can find themselves in double jeopardy in the same year they have an issue that needs to be addressed," he said.
Mr O'Brien said Jones was lucky he didn't kill anyone.
"What you did was reckless, thoughtless and dangerous," he said.
"You could have killed someone or killed yourself, had the emergency services extricate what's left of your body and inform your family of what happened, luckily that didn't happen.
"There's nothing wrong with going to a hotel or a licenced premises and having a drink. What's wrong is then going and driving, deliberately subverting the interlock process.
"I want you to live a long life but if you continue to offend you may not," he said.
Mr O'Brien made it a condition of Jones's order that he abstain from alcohol and engage in any drug or alcohol counselling he was referred to by his supervisor.
