A MAN caught driving for the fifth time without a licence in five years has been spared jail.
Newcastle Local Court heard on Thursday Tajini Vakaloloma, 31, was banned from driving for five years in late 2020 after he failed to get an interlock device fitted to his car - which requires a negative blood alcohol reading before a vehicle can be started - following a suspension for mid-range drink-driving.
The court heard that Mr Vakaloloma decided to drive while disqualified on several occasions because he considered it the "best of two bad choices" when the alternative was to impose on friends and family.
He was stopped behind the wheel of a vehicle by police on Douglas Street at Wallsend just after 8.30pm on April 17 - the fifth time since the lengthy suspension was handed to him.
The prosecution called for Mr Vakaloloma to be jailed on Thursday, but Magistrate Janine Lacy instead sentenced the 31-year-old to an Intensive Correction Order for seven months, disqualified him from driving for 12 months and fined him $800.
An Intensive Correction Order is viewed by the courts as a custodial sentence served in the community - they replaced suspended jail terms in NSW in 2018. The state's parole authority deals with breaches, and the offender may be ordered to serve their sentence in prison as a result of breaking their conditions.
