Unwise decision to drive

A MAGISTRATE has blasted a young electrician for getting behind the wheel after drinking from 5pm to 9.30pm while at a poker night with friends.

Zachary Thomas Peirce faced Toowoomba Magistrates Court on Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to driving over the middle alcohol limit.

The court was told Peirce was stopped by police on Mackenzie Street about 9.30pm on March 20 this year, where he returned a reading of 0.121.

Peirce’s solicitor Stuart Percy said his client, who had recently been employed as an electrician, was attending a poker night with friends and intended to stay the night, but made the “unfortunate decision” to drive home, not believing he was intoxicated.

Magistrate Kay Philipson said it was “beyond my comprehension” how Peirce could think he could be under the legal limit despite drinking from 5pm to 9.30pm before driving.

Peirce was fined $450 and disqualified for three months, with an application for a restricted licence with an interlock granted. No conviction was recorded.