The driver of a car, which was scratched and had a deflated tyre, was caught high range drink driving by police in Coronation Drive.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Peter Norman Strike, 59, of Old Forbes Road, was arrested at 11pm on February 4 and was taken to Orange Police Station where he returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.180 following his drive from Blayney to Orange.
According to police facts, Strike had consumed alcoholic drinks at home before going to a friends house at Blayney where he drank beer while working on his vehicle.
He then drove to Orange with police receiving a number of triple zero calls about his driving with reports he was driving about 20 km/h and collided with a median strip on the approach into Orange.
At 9.20pm police again received a call saying he was driving erratically in Anson Street well under the speed limit and the caller stayed on the line to direct police to his location.
Strike pleaded guilty and was sentenced in Orange Local Court last Monday when was fined $1460, had his driver’s licence disqualified for six months and will have to have an interlock device fitted to his car for 24 months.
Stike’s solicitor Tim Dalla handed up references and said Strike had completed the Traffic Offenders Intervention Program.
“In reading that material there is a similar matter going back 33 years ago,” Mr Dalla said.
“In these circumstances for him not to have offended in all this time there’s something that must have caused him to go off the rails.”
He said his client has always been in employment and currently has to travel to 30 kilometres to work.
In these circumstances for him not to have offended in all this time, there’s something that must have caused him to go off the rails.
- Solicitor Tim Dalla
“His licence has been suspended since [February 14],” Mr Dalla said.
Magistrate David Day said the previous high-range drink driving condition was too long ago to consider in this offence.
However, he said Strike’s intention was to drive a considerable distance.
“[It was] manner of driving which brought him under police attention,” Mr Day said.
“Everybody is affected at 0.1 and you were nearly double that.”