Maureen Eugenie Grayson blows breath/alcohol reading above .18

The 81-year-old blew a breath/alcohol reading almost four times the legal limit when pulled over in North Toowoomba.

A couple of nips of whiskey before driving proved a mistake for an 81-year-old Toowoomba woman who recorded a blood/alcohol reading almost four times the legal limit.

Police on patrol had seen Maureen Eugenie Grayson appear to swerve her car as she drove north on the New England Highway at Blue Mountain Heights about noon, March 12, Toowoomba Magistrates Court heard.

She eventually stopped her car in the middle of the road, which caused a traffic hazard, until police approached, police prosecutor Bettina Trenear told the court.

Grayson told police she had two nips of whiskey earlier that morning.

Taken to Toowoomba Hospital where a sample of her blood was taken, Grayson was found to have been driving with a blood/alcohol reading of 0.188, she said.

The 81-year-old pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence.

Her solicitor Brad Skuse told the court his client had been suffering from lung cancer for which she had received chemotherapy.

She used the whiskey to help deal with nausea from the chemo, he said.

In the lead up to this incident, his client had been going through a stressful time with medical treatment and had attended two funerals at that time, Mr Skuse said.

Her husband had since removed all alcohol from their home.

This was the first time in 81 years that she had stepped inside a courtroom, he said.

Noting her otherwise good character but reminding her that she was “extremely lucky” that she hadn’t been involved in an accident, Magistrate Kay Philipson ordered no conviction be recorded and fined Grayson $500 and disqualified her from holding or obtaining a driver’s licence for six months.