A lorry driver was twice over the drink-drive limit when he was behind the wheel of a 44-tonne HGV.
Stefan Iloaea, 35, from Romania, collided with a car as he tried to enter the M1 in Derbyshire.
Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court heard how Stefan had drunk alcohol while he was parked up in a lay-by.
DerbyshireLive reported the following morning, while driving his 44-tonne truck through the county, the 35-year-old Romanian national struck another car and was breathalysed.
After failing that roadside test, the defendant was arrested and at the police station gave an evidential reading of 90 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, when the legal limit is 35.
Theo Addae, his solicitor, told the hearing: "The defendant has been working for a company in Ireland for the past five-and-a-half years delivering around the UK for a number of companies.
"In the process of doing that job, this weekend, he stopped for a break on Sunday and parked in a lay-by.
"There he consumed some alcohol given to him by an associate, but he is not sure what it was or how strong it was.
"He stayed overnight in that lay-by and set off to go to his destination the following morning, and was on his way there when he made minor contact with another vehicle.
"He said he thought he was okay to drive, and this was a poor error of judgment on his part.
"He knows he's going to lose his licence, he has the funds to pay any fine on his debit card and his family is in Romania."
Peter Bettany, prosecuting, said police were called to junction 29 of the M1 at Heath, between Chesterfield and Mansfield, to reports of a collision between a car and Stefan's 44-tonner, at 8.30am on Monday, August 15.
He said there, the defendant failed to roadside test and then the second one at the station.
Later that day, Derbyshire police's roads policing unit posted pictures of the incident on its Twitter page.
In a tweet, it said: "J29, clips the car in front and is found to be 3 x over the drink-drive limit, in an HGV, about to join a motorway. #Unbelievable. Charged and remanded. #Fatal4 #DontDrinkAndDrive."
Stefan, who the court was told had no fixed address in the UK, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and had no previous UK convictions.
District Judge Andrew Meachin fined him £350 and ordered him to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £140 victim surcharge.
He also disqualified the defendant from driving for two years.
