The teenager, who was 17 at the time of offence, told Bathurst Local Court how he wished he hadn’t gotten behind the wheel after drinking three Wild Turkeys at a mate’s house.

In a letter written to the court the teenager told magistrate Michael Allen he accepted responsibility for his actions on New Year’s Eve.

The boy said before the incident, he had discussed the consequences of drink driving with his parents but on the night his judgment slipped and he got caught up in the celebrations. 

He said the ride back to the police station and sitting in the cells was “the worst experience of his life”, second only to confessing his stupid actions to his parents.

He was disappointed in his actions.

He continued by saying he learnt a lot from the Traffic Offenders Program, and had also discussed with his parents how to deal with a similar situation next time.

Police facts tendered to the court told how at 11.35pm on December 31, officers attached to Bathurst’s Traffic and Highway Unit were patrolling Bant Street, pulled over the teenager for the purpose of a random breath test in Rose Street.

Police approached spoke to the teenager who was still in the drivers seat, and saw there were three other young people still in the car.

The accused produced a NSW P1 provisional drivers licence, and underwent a breath test which produced a positive result. He was arrested and recorded a reading of 0.060 at Bathurst police station.

When questioned about consumption of alcohol told police he had three drinks of Wild Turkey and cola between 11pm and 11.30pm.

Mr Allen dealt with the matter by way of a Section 10(1)(b) conditional discharge, placing the teenager on a bond for 12 months.