A Lurgan man who admitted to drinking “no more than four or five beers” did not believe he was over the limit when he got behind the wheel, a court has heard.
Brian Thomas Porter, of Union Street, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol in his breath at Craigavon Magistrates’ on Wednesday.
The incident occurred at around 11.45pm on August 18 when police witnessed the 40-year-old driving a Suzuki vehicle on the Tandragee Road, Lurgan, in an erratic fashion.
Porter failed a preliminary breath test at the roadside and whilst in custody a test gave a reading of 85mgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath.
Defence counsel said his client admitted at the scene to police that he had drunk “no more than four or five beers” before being stopped and did not think he was over the limit.
He added that Porter now knew that consuming this amount of alcohol would certainly leave him over what is legally allowed.
It was revealed that defendant worked fitting blinds for a living but his employer had offered to keep him on in a role which would not require driving.
Porter was banned from driving for 12 months but was certified fit for the drink driving course which would see this reduced to nine months.
In addition, he was ordered to pay a fine of £300, along with the offender’s levy of £15, within 12 weeks.
