Andrew Boag pleads guilty at Byron Bay Local Court to high-range drink driving

A Byron Bay man was busted drunk behind the wheel just five minutes after having “a lot” of drinks on a Thursday night.

Andrew Boag was caught high-range drink driving.

A man has copped a hefty fine after being busted behind the wheel while highly intoxicated in Byron Bay.

Andrew Boag, 53, pleaded guilty at Byron Bay Local Court on Monday to high-range drink driving.

The Byron Bay man’s Toyota FJ Cruiser was pulled over for a random breath test on Middleton St about 11.45pm on February 2, court documents state.

Boag returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.163 and told police he had his last drink five minutes earlier.

“He couldn’t specify how many drinks he had, he said: ‘A lot’,” police documents state.

Boag was arrested and taken to Byron Bay police station.

He did not know how many drinks he had consumed.

Defence lawyer Sally McPherson said Boag has property in Byron Bay and Victoria but spends most of his time out of Australia.

“He has completed the traffic offenders program,” Mrs McPherson said.

Magistrate Karen Stafford said it was “most disheartening” to see the number of people who still drink drive, despite the legislation being in place for a long time to prevent road fatalities.

“It’s a great privilege to hold a driver’s licence and if you are going to abuse the privilege and put people and yourself at risk, you need to face the consequences,” Mrs Stafford said.

Ms Stafford fined Boag $1000 and disqualified his licence for six months.

When his licence is returned, he must have an interlock device for two years.