Daniel Thomas Clements serious DUI charge

A Margaret River man found driving almost five times the legal alcohol limit has been slapped with thousands of dollars in fines and lost his rights to drive. In September this year police were called to a suspected domestic violence incident at the Margaret River Hotel after neighbours heard Daniel Thomas Clements arguing with his partner. Instead officers found Clements behind the wheel with a blood alcohol reading of 0.243. Clements was convicted of driving under the influence in his absence at Margaret River Magistrates Court on Monday after failing to appear, despite his lawyer telling the court he was taking the matter “extremely seriously.” The court was told there was no domestic violence, however the argument had seen Clements attempt to remove himself from the situation as the argument escalated. It was revealed the DUI is his third in 20 years, with more dating back to 1996 which could not be taken into consideration due to being so long ago. Magistrate Benjamin Tyers said it was the time between each DUI, the last of which occurred in 2017, which saved the man from imprisonment. Instead Clements was fined $4,000 and had his license disqualified permanently.