A St Helens concreter and builder tried to evade police by stopping his car and running away because he knew he was over the limit, the Launceston Magistrates Court heard.
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Matthew Howard Harvey, 30, pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle while exceeding 0.05 and evading police under aggravated circumstances on July 30, 2022, about 11.30pm.
Police prosecutor Jack Fawdry said police saw a Toyota Hilux with no headlights turn out of Quail street.
The court heard that the vehicle quickly turned the corner and mounted the kerb before a man ran off in the direction of the Cenotaph and then secreted himself between two bins.
After being arrested he told police that he didn't have a licence and that he knew they would get him for drink driving.
Harvey's blood analysis revealed a level of 0.117.
Defence counsel Grant Tucker said Harvey had been drinking steadily at a function at his home but when alcohol ran out he offered to drive to the local hotel to get some more.
"He pulled out and thought the headlights would come on automatically," Mr Tucker said.
"He pulled over and got out and the evade was on foot, he was not involved in a car chase."
Mr Tucker said Harvey would need to apply for a restricted so that he could continue working.
He asked that the drink drive penalty of six months disqualification be run concurrently with a two-year disqualification for evading police.
Magistrate Sharon Cure said the legislation had an emphasis on deterring people from evading police.
"The question for me is whether I go beyond two years," she said.
She said the 0.117 obviously impacted on his judgment.
Ms Cure fined Harvey $3,620 for evading police and $724 for drink driving and disqualified him from driving for two years.
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Nick Clark
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
I am the Supreme and Magistrates Court reporter for the Examiner for the past 18 months. My journalism career has clicked over 30 years and encompasses four different spells at Tasmanian newspapers.
