A prominent Wangaratta sportsman who was caught more than four times the legal drinking limit on an e-scooter has been told to address drinking issues he believed he doesn’t have.
The 35-year-old man appeared at Wangaratta Magistrates’ Court on Monday supported by representatives of his football club to plead guilty to drink riding.
The court heard on 18 May this year about 4:15pm police intercepted the man on his e-scooter after he was spotted riding west along the Edwards Street footpath without a helmet.
He was breath tested and recorded a reading of 0.218, leading to an immediate licence suspension and having his e-scooter impounded.
The man told police he wasn’t aware of the e-scooter alcohol restrictions and said he had drunk three stubbies.
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The court heard the defendant had been guilty of drink driving on two prior occasions.
Defence counsel Chirag Patel said his client was at the Wangaratta RSL for lunch earlier in the day and he had been out drinking the night before.
Mr Patel said the defendant was a highly regarded member of the community through his football and work and while he admitted to being a binge drinker, he didn’t believe he had issues with alcohol - having said he could handle his alcohol better than most.
Magistrate Peter Dunn was bewildered by the extremely high reading and said the defendant had serious drinking issues.
“I think he’s got a problem and most people in the community would think he’s got a problem… it’ll catch up with him sooner rather than later,” he said.
“If he was an AFL player there’d be huge consequences for the footy club; this is just not the type of example they want.”
Magistrate Dunn also found issue with the negligence of not wearing a helmet while riding the scooter over the limit, referencing Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher as an example of what could happen if he was to hit his head at high speeds.
The defendant was disqualified from driving for 21 months and issued a $1500 fine.
“He’s got to do something, or he’ll just be one of those blokes drinking cans at the footy with a red blotchy face and a big nose,” Magistrate Dunn said.