A man caught drunk driving a toy scooter has had his sentence reduced due to the unusual nature of the offence.Adam Petty, 25, was arrested near his Woodbourne Avenue home on July 14 after officers saw him riding the electric scooter, which has a top speed of around 15mph.As soon as he saw the officers, he turned the vehicle around and rode away from them, but the officers followed him.Questioned by the officers, he admitted that he had been drinking and shouldn’t have been riding. A breath test revealed that Petty had 214mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, more than double the legal limit of 80mg.In September, Petty pleaded guilty to driving while over the legal blood-alcohol limit, as well as driving a vehicle that was both unlicensed and uninsured.Lawyer Richard Horseman said the nature of the vehicle amounted to unusual circumstances, giving Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner the discretion to not suspend his licence.Mr Warner however ruled that the details of the case did not amount to special circumstances, banning Petty from driving all vehicles for a period of 12 months.During an appeal hearing held on November 5, lawyer Peter Sanderson, argued that the nature of the vehicle, combined with the lack of any indication that it was used as a means of transportation and a lack of potential harm, were special circumstances.In his written ruling, Mr Justice Kawaley noted that the Senior Magistrate did not appear to articulate the reason why he felt the facts did not amount to special circumstances either verbally or in writing.After reviewing the record and listening to submissions, the Chief Justice ruled in favour of Petty, saying that special reasons were made out.“I do not accept that this was a case where there was a low risk of harm,” Mr Justice Kawaley said. “This was, as [Crown counsel Karen] King rightly pointed out, a public road or highway.“I do accept, on the other hand, that the combination of the facts that (a) this was an event which took place very near the appellant’s home (b) that he was driving a vehicle which could not conceivably be used as a mode of transportation and (c) that the nature of the vehicle was such that the speed at which it could go was comparatively low, did amount to special reasons.“I reach this conclusion notwithstanding the fact that he was seen by the police to be riding in what they considered to be an erratic manner.”The Chief Justice also noted that Petty readily admitted to officers that he should not have been riding.“That is indicative of the fact that he is generally a responsible young man and that he was unfortunate to have been caught by the police, in terms of his culpability, but perhaps fortunate in the sense that his potentially dangerous riding adventure was brought to a speedy end.”Mr Justice Kawaley said that the appropriate period of disqualification was three months rather than 12, and changed the sentence accordingly. However, he said he was not minded to change the fines imposed, noting that if a third party was injured by Petty’s riding, he would have been uninsured.