A mid range charge at Wyong
In this Wyong drink driving case study, Joshua Boorman appeared at Wyong Local Court on the Central Coast for a client charged with middle range drink driving. The reading was 0.092. Joshua explains that it was probably the client’s manner of driving that brought him to police attention: police said they pulled him over for taking a corner too wide and struggling to stay in his lane. He was alone in the car late at night.
A long day and a late-night call
Earlier that day he had dropped his wife at university in Sydney, come back and worked a shift. After work he went to cricket training in Newcastle, where he is heavily involved in club cricket. He had forgotten his spikes and borrowed a pair from a friend.
To say thanks, he bought his friend a six-pack, and bought one for himself. He was home before midnight and drank three full-strength Great Northern stubbies between about midnight and 1.30 am, before falling asleep in front of the TV.
At about 3 am he woke to a barrage of missed calls and messages from the same friend, asking for a lift to Wyong station to catch an early train to Sydney. Willing to help, he got in the car without turning his mind to the three drinks, especially after a couple of hours’ sleep. He did not feel impaired. On the way, his friend called to say he had arranged another lift, so the client turned around to go home. That was when police stopped him.
His history
The aggravating factor was that this was his second drink driving matter. About 5 years earlier he had a low range offence, but he was not convicted of it, so this offence was categorised as a first offence. Joshua notes that the magistrate could still see it was not his first time before the court on an alcohol-related traffic matter.
Wyong drink driving case study: how Joshua Boorman prepared the case
- He completed the Traffic Offenders Program.
- He attended a couple of sessions of SMART Recovery, a drug and alcohol counselling program.
- He works for a distribution company that services Woolworths and needed to get back on the road.
- He had been spending $200 to $300 a week on Ubers and taxis.
- He had already been off the road for almost 3 months.
The outcome
- the 3-month minimum disqualification, backdated;
- an $800 fine; and
- 12 months on the alcohol interlock program.
Because the disqualification was backdated, Joshua explains, the client was eligible from that day to get the paperwork, have an interlock fitted and apply for an interlock licence. Joshua says the penny has dropped for him, and that the client has set himself a personal rule not to drive within 24 hours of having a drink.
What this case shows
Drinks taken before sleep can still be in a person’s system hours later. Here, a backdated minimum disqualification meant the client could move straight onto the interlock. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on the facts and history.
Key general information (NSW)
General information only, not legal advice, as at October 2026. Every case turns on its own facts.
- Drink driving (PCA) offences: In New South Wales most drink driving charges are “prescribed concentration of alcohol” (PCA) offences under the Road Transport Act 2013 (NSW).
- The broad penalty picture: As one example, Transport for NSW lists the maximum court-imposed penalty for a first mid range PCA offence as a fine of $2,200 and up to 9 months’ imprisonment (as at October 2026).
- The Alcohol Interlock Program: A zero alcohol limit applies to all interlock drivers, and a person who receives an interlock order but does not enter the program is disqualified for 5 years.
- How repeat offences are treated: Transport for NSW says drivers convicted of 2 drink driving offences within a 5-year period must pass the Driver Knowledge Test before they can be licensed again.
- The court process: Drink and drug driving charges in NSW are usually dealt with in the Local Court.
Further reading and related videos
Boorman Lawyers has more on appearing at Wyong Local Court, Gosford Local Court and NSW alcohol interlock laws. Its NSW site covers drink driving matters across NSW.
On this site, see a Gosford aggravated mid range case and a Campbelltown case where a repeat-offence label was corrected, or browse all NSW and drink driving videos.
For people who are preparing to plead guilty without a lawyer, DIY DUI’s Wyong page covers the local court and plea process. (DIY DUI is a self-help program for people preparing their own guilty plea. It is not legal representation and is not part of Boorman Lawyers.)
Read the video transcript
Yeah it's Josh from Boorman Lawyers I'm just here at Wyong Local Court where I've appeared on a client's middle range drink driving offence uh blood alcohol rating was 0.092 um and uh it was probably our client's manner of driving which brought him to the attention of police nothing significantly aggravated he was the sole occupant of the vehicle um very late at night um but police did say they pulled him over due to taking corner too wide
Struggling to stay in his uh driving lane uh the background to the offence was that earlier in the day before he had dropped his wife off to University in Sydney come back completed a shift at work after work he went and played um sorry he went training for he's heavily involved in club Cricket he trained in Newcastle he forgot his uh cricket spikes and had to borrow them off a friend uh after the training in order to say thank you to his friend he went
Bought him a sixpack of beer he also bought himself a six-pack of beer went home was home before midnight and um had three um uh stubbies of uh full strength Great Northern uh beer between probably about midnight till 1:30 before falling asleep watching um the TV uh he then woke up at about 3: in the morning uh to a barrage of missed calls and messages from his friend um who he had actually been with earlier that night at Cricket training his friend was asking if he could give him a lift from [unclear] to the Wyong train station uh because his friend wanted to catch the early train down to Sydney bit of a strange set of circumstances
Events but um nevertheless always willing to help a friend my client um uh got in the car to go and assist him and unfortunately didn't turn his mind to three drinks he' had earlier in the night especially after having a couple of hours sleep um he didn't feel intoxicated or impaired by any means um so he went to get his friend on the way there his friend actually called him and said oh don't worry to come get me I've already arranged another lift
And at that point my client turned around and said to head home and that's when he came to the attention of police pulled over subjected to breath test positive reading 0.092 was the final breath analysis reading um so yes Sol occupant of the vehicle no crash slight level of aggravation due to his manner of driving uh reading's [unclear] towards the lower end of the uh mid-range uh category um the thing that did did aggravate the matter was it was his second
Drink driving offence now on the last occasion he got a low range offence and was lucky enough not to be convicted of that so this offence um uh the prior offence was just on 5 years ago uh however because it wasn't uh convicted he didn't receive a conviction this offence was categorised as a first offence but the reality is is that magistrate could see that uh it wasn't his first time before the court on a alcohol related traffic offence
He did the Traffic Offenders Program uh he also and did a couple of sessions of SMART Recovery um which is uh an alcohol drug and alcohol counselling course um and um he does have a need to be able to get back on the road he's involved in a Distribution Company um that works uh for Woolworths and um he's does have a need to get back on the road um as he's spend spending $200 to $300 a week on Uber
Taxi um rides he's been off the road already for just on 3 months so we were asking the court to consider reducing the disqualification to the minimum period of 3 months uh with the backdating order um and that was granted by the court he was given that he was um given an $800 fine he does have to commit to doing 12 months on the Alcohol Interlock program uh but effectively as of today he can go to the [unclear: 'RNs' in the captions; likely Service NSW or the RMS]
Get the forms go and get the interlock uh fitted into his vehicle and go back with um the proof of that and get the issued with a uh a restricted interlock licence as of today is eligible so that's exactly what he's going to do he's he's very grateful that the um period of time off the road is coming to an end and he can move on with his life um but I I think it's very unlikely we'll see him back before the court again because I think penny's finally dropped that you just cannot drink
And and consider driving um uh within a short period after you your last drink uh I think he's committed himself to not even driving even if he's had a drink within the last 24 hours which is probably a smart um a smart rule to personal rule to follow um to ensure that he doesn't get caught out again in the future but thanks for tuning in here at uh Wyong Local Court up on the Central Coast uh it's good to be here and um and help our client out today thanks for tuning in.
General information only, based on New South Wales law at the time of filming. Not legal advice — every case turns on its own facts. Past results don't guarantee future outcomes.
