So drunk he could barely control his own body, Campbell McDonald careered up the A9 leaving a string of terrified motorists in his wake.
Weaving from side to side and accelerating to unsafe speeds, the 47-year-old forced drivers to take evasive action to avoid being struck by his van.
As they looked on in horror, he narrowly avoided slamming into the side of a petrol tanker as he lost control of his vehicle.
Following a brief police pursuit by which time he had covered more than 13 miles McDonald finally came to a halt, swerving into a lay-by, where he closely missed a parked vehicle.
Appearing in the dock at Perth Sheriff Court on Wednesday, McDonald, of Craigbeag, The Terrace, Pitlochry, was banned from the road for four years and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.
Sheriff Fiona Tait said the stiff penalty and accompanying community payback order was an alternative to custody and was designed to protect the public.
Depute fiscal Lisa Marshall said McDonald’s erratic driving had gone on for miles, beginning with a near accident as he joined the A9 at Dunkeld, causing traffic to brake heavily.
He was seen swerving around the road as he travelled north, nearly colliding with the grass verge on numerous occasions and drifting into the path of southbound traffic on at least five occasions.
Horrified witnesses saw him swerve into a lay-by, before correcting and coming to a sudden stop, with the nose of the van blocking the northbound lane.
McDonald then took off at speed, with drivers swerving to avoid a collision, before tearing past cars and a petrol tanker almost drifting into the side of the tanker as he did so.
“He did not react to the blue lights at first but eventually swerved into a lay-by, almost striking a vehicle parked there,” the depute fiscal told the court.
“He had bloodshot eyes and was slurring his words, and when out of his car began staggering around the lay-by.”
McDonald failed a roadside breath test and later admitted driving his van dangerously and at excessive speed, and also driving with 151 mic of alcohol in 100ml of breath on July 12.
The legal alcohol limit is just 35 mics.
Solicitor Billy Somerville told the court his client’s decision to drive home that day had been “a moment of madness”.