The decision to drive a friend back to their house after watching football and having dinner has cost one Hillston resident her driver's licence for three months.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Stephanie Horne, 26, was charged with mid-range drink driving after police saw her driving on Burns Street around 11.10pm on June 4.
Horne stopped outside a Burns Street house to let her friend out of the car.
Police pulled up behind Horne to complete a random breath test which was positive, before a secondary test at Hillston police station which returned a reading of 0.102.
On July 14 in Griffith Local Court, Horne's solicitor Olivia Harris said she was "trying to do the right thing" by taking her friend home on a cold night.
Ms Harris said Horne needed her licence as she was in the final year of study and needed to travel to Lake Cargelligo to complete the final practical aspect of her degree.
She said Horne also assisted her parents in caring for her brother who has a disability.
"I hear that a lot. Everyone seems to need their licence out here," Magistrate Michael Love said.
Mr Love said getting in the car to drive after drinking alcohol was the wrong thing to do.
In sentencing her, Mr Love took into account Horne's character references as well as the completion of the traffic offenders program and believed Horne was unlikely to re-offend.
Horne was convicted and fine $800, as well being disqualified from driving for three months from when she lost her licence. A mandatory interlock period of 12 months will also apply.
READ MORE
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:
- Bookmark www.areanews.com.au
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News