Judge Harvey said Miller's self-referral was "a little too late". Photo / File
A Kaipara man convicted of his eighth drink-driving charge was spared jail because six of his offences dated back more than 20 years.
Thomas Miller, 55, was first convicted in 1975 - re-offending five times up to 1993 - with a seventh conviction in 2008.
Miller, a self-confessed alcoholic, said
he had always thought he could manage his drinking problem himself, Dargaville District Court heard yesterday.
When stopped by police in Onslow St in June, the court heard, he returned a reading of 919 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, more than twice the legal adult limit of 400mcg. Miller had told police he had drunk about four to six stubbies. "Clearly this was a lie," said Judge Duncan Harvey. "Your reading indicates you had obviously had more."
Defence solicitor Rowena Smith said Miller had three months ago joined Alcoholics Anonymous and another drive-sober programme in an effort to deal with his problem. He was remorseful and now aware of the risk he posed to the community.
