The behaviour of a drunk driver found asleep at the wheel beside a pool of vomit was "disgraceful", according to a judge.
Daniel Stuart John Weir (41), a shearer from South Otago, had been caught over the limit on four previous occasions, the Dunedin District Court heard last week.
"You’ve had every sentence possible and you’ve learned nothing," Judge Michael Crosbie said.
"I don’t know what it would take for you to get the message."
Weir was sentenced to four months’ home detention but the judge left him in no doubt as to how close he had come to being locked up.
"You’re some way away from demonstrating you’re a pro-social member of the community," the judge said.
Weir was in his Honda at 6pm on February 16.
He had pulled over on the Owaka Highway and had fallen asleep, the court heard.
When police turned up, they found the defendant in the car, a puddle of vomit outside it and the keys on the bonnet.
The scene was "both disgraceful and disturbing", Judge Crosbie said.
Weir admitted to drinking after a shearing shift and apologised to officers.
A breath test gave a reading of 1057mcg — more than four times the legal limit.
"That is extremely high," the judge said.
"You were clearly incapable of driving."
Despite his criminal history and his level of intoxication, Weir told the court at sentencing he was not an alcoholic — but admitted he occasionally drank to the point of not remembering.
Defence counsel Andrew More said his client was a hard worker who sheared year round.
He stressed Weir’s last such conviction was in 2009.
The man showed "genuine remorse", Mr More said, and had a willingness to change.
Weir was banned from driving for 28 days before the alcohol-interlock licensing regime kicked in.
