Ronald James Evenden pleads guilty to high range drink driving after blew 0.275 after being pulled over by police

A drunk driver, caught with a reading of 0.275 on a Sunday afternoon, was lucky not to kill himself or anyone else before he was stopped by police, a court has been told.

A drink driver busted behind the wheel more than five times the legal limit could have killed himself or another road user, with a magistrate telling the man he was lucky that police stopped him when they did.

About 5.45pm on June 26 highway patrol officers in Toowoomba intercepted a vehicle being driven by Ronald James Evenden on Waterbird Street in Rangeville, Toowoomba Magistrates Court was told on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old was so intoxicated police could smell alcohol from the vehicle after he was stopped, and he struggled to answer their questions, police prosecutor Anita Page said.

After testing positive roadside Evenden was arrested and taken to Toowoomba police station where he returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.275.

Evenden fronted court on Tuesday where he pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of liquor.

Ronald James Evenden, 37, faced Toowoomba Magistrates Court on August 30 where he pleaded guilty to high range drink driving.

“The BAC reading is clearly in excess of five times the legal limit and the conduct is serious because it imposed the risk of injury or death to others,” Ms Page said.

“Fortunately that was not the case. It’s concerning that his driving was during the day on a Sunday afternoon where it’s likely to be families using the road expecting other road users to not be intoxicated.”

Evenden’s barrister David Jones said his client had “a problem with the drink” but had taken steps to address his problem, including being medicated as part of his rehabilitation.

“It’s always difficult to realise that you’ve got a problem with drinking when the lens you’re looking through is often affected by liquor,” he said.

“He has received a clear warning, he has looked back and what the difficulties were that he was dealing with in the shadows are now in the light, he is medicated himself and seeking professional assistance.”

Submitting his client was a contributing member to society and that family was important to him, Mr Jones said it was through a “large degree of luck” that Evenden’s drink driving didn’t result in something more serious.

Magistrate Clare Kelly said with Evenden’s significantly high reading it was fortunate that police intervened when they did before he himself became a “road statistic”.

Evenden was fined $1700 and disqualified from driving for six months, with no conviction recorded.