Raphael Peron fined $1000 for drink driving on Elizabeth St, Hobart
A French national training to be a sommelier was caught driving more than three times the limit after police became suspicious of his car swerving on the road at half the speed limit.
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A French national training to be a sommelier was caught driving more than three times the legal limit after police became suspicious of his car swerving on the road at half the posted speed limit.
Raphael Peron pleaded guilty in Hobart Magistrates Court to one count each to drive a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed alcohol limit, and one count of drive a vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor.
Police Prosecutor Jody Dennison told Magistrate Glenn Hay that at about 2.30am on May 7 this year, police spotted Peron driving along Elizabeth St, doing 25km/h in a 50 zone.
Peron was seen swerving between the two lanes, at least two to three times for about 100m.
After being stopped, Peron told police he was driving home to Lindisfarne after a night at the Republic bar, and that he had drunk a bottle of wine.
He later recorded a blood-alcohol content of .163.
His lawyer told the court that the 27-year-old had only been in Australia since February, and that he been working for Tasmanian Vintners in Cambridge and was training to be a sommelier in France.
The court was told Peron had no prior convictions in either country, nor did he have any mental or physical “ailments”.
“He understood there is no excuse for his behaviour; it was a poor decision, a very poor decision, to decided to drive in the state he did that night,” the lawyer said.
It was heard Peron had been out to celebrate the end of his contract with Tasmanian Vintners.
He had made the decision to drive after both he and his girlfriend became drunk.
“It was a very poor lapse of judgment, he said he would drive but he was in no condition to drive.”
The court heard Peron would be moving to Victoria to take up another job in the winemaking industry next week.
Mr Hay fined Peron $1000 and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
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Originally published as Raphael Peron fined $1000 for drink driving on Elizabeth St, Hobart
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