A never licensed driver, who also went high-range, came to the attention of police because of his "erratic" driving which included almost hitting a traffic island and parked cars, Mudgee Local Court heard last week.
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Zachary Byrnes of Market Street, Mudgee, was sentenced to a nine-month Community Corrections Order and disqualified for six months, to be followed by a 24-month interlock period.
According to the police facts submitted to the court, at 2am on July 11, 2020, police in Mortimer Street, Mudgee, have seen a vehicle swerving all over the road, almost hitting a traffic island and parked cars.
Officers stopped the vehicle near the intersection with Lewis Street in order to conduct breath testing.
The driver, Byrnes, told police at the scene "I'll be over the limit, I've been drinking since 11.30 this morning".
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The roadside breath test was positive for alcohol and officers took him to Mudgee Police Station, where he recorded a breath analysis of 0.153.
When officers asked Byrnes for his licence he said "I haven't got one", with subsequent checks by police revealing that he's never been licensed.
The the 20-year-old represented himself in court last Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to charges of 'Drive with high range prescribed concentration of alcohol' and 'Never licensed person drive vehicle on road'.
Upon reading the police facts, Magistrate David Day put an emphasis the defendant's lack of control of the vehicle, which he described as "erratic".
"Mr Byrnes was well aware he shouldn't have been driving and his manner of driving certainly indicated that," he said.
