![A Launceston woman avoided jail after driving at "virtually six times" the legal limit. Picture by Craig George A Launceston woman avoided jail after driving at "virtually six times" the legal limit. Picture by Craig George](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/162400250/be9b242d-9b7c-41db-a120-e3c7e7d45f2e.jpg/r0_321_6016_3703_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A Launceston woman has been given a fourth, and final, chance after being pulled over while driving at nearly six times the legal limit.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
41-year-old Sonia Hillary Schlotzer pleaded guilty to multiple driving charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol, at the Launceston Magistrates Court on February 20, 2024.
Police told the court Schlotzer was reported by several motorists driving erratically along the Bass Highway at Devonport about 3.30pm on October 18, 2023.
She pulled her vehicle off the road and onto the shoulder and was followed by some other motorists, who the court heard happened to be Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) personnel.
Police told the court the TFS personnel took Schlotzer's keys after speaking with her.
When police arrived at the scene, officers noted a "strong smell of alcohol" in Schlotzer's vehicle, that Schlotzer was slurring her words and she struggled to identify herself.
The court heard Schlotzer told officers to "put (her) on the breatho" but was unable to follow the instructions for a roadside breath test.
A breath test at the police station returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.29, nearly six times the legal limit of 0.05.
Schlotzer also had a condition on her licence stating she had to maintain a blood alcohol level of zero.
Defence counsel Grant Tucker said Schlotzer was prepared to take full responsibility for her actions, but asked for Schlotzer to be spared an immediate jail sentence.
Mr Tucker said Schlotzer had struggled with mental health issues and alcoholism in the past, and the October incident was down to her relapsing.
Magistrate Simon Brown said it was a "very serious episode" of drink driving, adding Schlotzer was "obviously hugely affected by alcohol".
"This was a major arterial route," Mr Brown said.
"You were a very significant danger to anyone on or near the road."
The magistrate said the reading was "so close to six times the legal limit, it was virtually six times the legal limit" and noted this was not Schlotzer's first time driving drunk.
In 2013 she was disqualified from driving after driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.097, and in 2017 she was pulled over on two occasions with blood alcohol readings of 0.15 and 0.168.
She was sentenced to community service hours, and what Mr Brown described as a "lengthy disqualification" after the 2017 incidents.
For the most recent charge of driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, Schlotzer was given a four-month prison sentence - wholly suspended for two years - fined $2000 and disqualified from driving until October 18, 2026.
The magistrate said this would be Schlotzer's final chance.
"If you were to return before the court, it would seem to me there would be no option left but to send you to prison," Mr Brown said.
Mr Brown dismissed a driving while exceeding prescribed alcohol limit charge, as it was subsumed into the driving while under the influence charge.
He also recorded a conviction, but levied no punishment, against a third charge arising from Schlotzer breaching the zero alcohol licence condition.