The most intoxicated driver caught on Northland's roads - who also makes the country's top 10 drink-driver list - has been banned from driving indefinitely.
Peter Charles Bootes was nearly six times the legal blood-alcohol limit and was so drunk he had to hold on to the walls of thepolice station to stop himself falling over after he was stopped on March 17.
Breath-testing procedures were started, but because Bootes' alcohol level exceeded the testing machine's top limit of 2000 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, a blood sample had to be taken instead.
Test results showed the 52-year-old had a blood-alcohol level of 458 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit for motorists aged 20 and above is 80mg per 100ml. The blood level equated to a breath alcohol level of 2250 micrograms.
Judge Thomas Everitt, in Whangarei District Court yesterday, said he would have sent Bootes to jail if it hadn't been for a judge's intervention at a previous appearance.
"It was an appalling situation. It was selfish and thoughtless," Judge Everitt said. '
'You really deserve a sentence of imprisonment. You were wilfully, intentionally endangering the public. This case is hard on the heels of another shocking incident of drink-driving when you had an extremely high level of 1269 micrograms in 2008."
Lawyer Kelly Hennessy said Bootes had had a difficult three-year relationship with his partner - mainly because of alcohol.
On the day, Bootes had argued with his partner and decided to drive to a nearby spot to contemplate their relationship. "It was the wrong decision - he had been drinking."
Bootes was sentenced to four months' community detention, 12 months' supervision and 300 hours' community work. He was given a final warning and disqualified from driving indefinitely.
