A retired orthopaedic surgeon has been slapped with a $2000 fine for driving while more than double the legal alcohol limit.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bernard John Einoder pleaded guilty to drink driving in the Launceston Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The former Launceston doctor, who was director of surgery and chief executive at Launceston General Hospital in the 80s, was caught in December last year.
Officers from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator noticed the 76-year-old driving "slowly" along the Midland Highway and followed him.
When Einoder parked in George Street in Launceston, the regulation officers approached him and said police were on their way.
Einoder was breath tested and returned a positive reading.
He was taken back to the Launceston Police Station where he underwent further testing and blew 0.123.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Lawyer Bill Griffiths told the court his client had been drinking gin and tonic, but as he did not pour all of the drinks himself, he was unsure of how much alcohol he had consumed before getting in his car.
Einoder now operates a farm at Perth, which is also home to a whisky distillery.
Mr Griffiths said his client needed to travel to and from Launceston as part of the farming operation, and asked the magistrate to postpone any disqualification to allow for a restricted license to be processed.
Magistrate Ken Stanton said it was Einoder's "obligation to make sure you were aware of what you were drinking".
"The purpose of the Road Safety (Alcohol and Drugs) Act is to protect the public from risk ... it is a risk you are no doubt very familiar with," Mr Stanton said.
The court heard it was not the first time Einoder had been caught drink driving, with prior convictions from 1989 and 2000.
Mr Stanton said despite Einoder's previous drink-driving convictions, he had a clean record for someone who had been driving for decades.
"Generally, traffic offending is out of character for you," he said.
He was convicted and fined and disqualified from driving for 12 months.
The disqualification was postponed for 42 days.