Hooning his way off the Hume Freeway ramp onto Melrose Drive at 90km/h was a bad move for Allan Abbott – he nearly crashed straight into a police random breath testing site.
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The 68-year-old was on his way home after Christmas drinks at Albury’s Commercial Club about 10.30pm on November 12 last year when he made a series of mistakes in front of police.
He appeared in Wodonga Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to charges of drink driving and careless driving.
Police wearing high-visibility vests and holding light sticks attempted to direct Abbott into the lane for breath testing, but had to wave to get his attention when he drove directly at them at closer to 90km/h than the 60km/h speed limit.
“The accused braked late – this caused (the police officer) to jump out of the car’s path to avoid being hit,” the prosecutor told the court.
“The driver was fidgeting with the car’s controls and not responding to police calls to turn off the vehicle.”
After an officer opened the passenger-side door to get the driver’s attention, Abbott started to reverse the car and struck the officer with the open door.
A breath test revealed he had a blood alcohol content of .112.
“He admitted to drinking half a dozen drinks since 5pm at a Christmas party,” the prosecutor said.
Police immediately suspended Abbott’s licence.
Solicitor David Avery said the car only tapped the police office, it did not knock him over.
He said his client had been going through personal issues on the night, but was normally a respected community member involved in dancing and coaching and refereeing junior soccer.
References tendered to the court also attested to Abbott’s good character.
“He had these drinks, he readily admits he shouldn’t have driven,” Mr Avery said.
“The police officer opened the passenger door, a move he wasn’t expecting.
“There was no malicious intent … It’s quite a significant moment in his life.”
The incident was Abbott’s second drink-driving offence since 2012, but Mr Avery asked the licence suspension be kept as low as possible to allow him to fulfill work and family obligations.
Magistrate John Murphy fined him $1500 and suspended his driver’s licence for 28 months, which was more than the 22-month minimum for the drink-driving level.
“It’s aggravated by your driving, you could have taken out a police officer,” he said.