A magistrate has slammed a Beechworth man for hitting the highway with three passengers after downing 10 cans of beer.
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"He's acted like a complete idiot," Miranda Moody told defence lawyer Mitchell Irwin.
Harley Matthews had placed the other men "at great risk, not to mention himself," Ms Moody said, on convicting him for having a high-range prescribed concentration of alcohol.
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Matthews, 25, of Wells Road, pleaded guilty in Albury Local Court this week.
He was caught by police at Narooma on the far south coast, where he had been attending birthday celebrations.
He told police he had no choice but to be behind the wheel.
"I was only driving because one of my mates was driving but he drove off the road, so I took over," Matthews said.
Ms Moody said Matthews had a blood alcohol reading of 0.163, "which is well and truly in the mid-range."
"Neither the offender nor his mates should have been anywhere near a vehicle given their level of intoxication," she said.
The court was told how police saw a grey Toyota Hilux heading south on the Princes Highway on December 27 just after midnight.
He came under notice because he appeared to be speeding.
At one point he did a U-turn then turned into a service station.
"The accused stepped from the driver's side of the vehicle and was immediately unsteady and clumsy on approaching police."
Matthews, who had been drinking for 10 hours, was placed on a 12-month community corrections order, lost his licence for six months and was fined $1000.
