A FRAMLINGHAM man who has never held a driver’s licence has been fined $3000 after being caught twice with an alcohol reading three times the legal limit.
Beau Wayne Clarke, 23, of Kirrae Avenue, pleaded guilty in Warrnambool Magistrates Court to careless driving, failing to appear in court and two counts of both drink-driving and unlicensed driving.
As well as being fined Clarke was disqualified from getting a driver’s licence for 30 months.
Police alleged that on April 30, 2009, Clarke was driving a green Holden Commodore station wagon in the Koroit area. He dropped off people in Koroit and drove down Lake View Road to the Princes Highway.
He turned right thinking he was heading to Warrnambool when he was actually going towards Port Fairy. He saw lights, thought it was an oncoming car, lost control and finished in a ditch on the side of the highway.
At 2.25am he blew .184 and police discovered he was unlicensed and had never held a licence.
On January 6 last year Clarke was driving south in Warrnambool’s Banyan Street when he was pulled over.
He recorded an alcohol reading of .144.
Defence counsel Xavier Farrelly said his client had a difficult childhood involving alcohol, drugs and criminal activities and Clarke had run off the rails after his mother died two-and-a-half years ago.
Magistrate Jonathan Klestadt said it was a pretty spectacular way for Clarke to start committing driving offences and with such a high alcohol reading was lucky not to have killed himself or someone else.
