Supported by his mother and father in Wellington Local Court on Tuesday, Bradley Trelawney O'Brien pleaded guilty to mid-range drink driving.

Police were patrolling Wellington when they saw a white Toyota hatchback driving along Gisborne Street at about 2am on June 19 this year.

Officers pulled the vehicle over for a random breath test and saw O'Brien in the drivers seat with two other passengers.

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The 18-year-old produced his P2 licence and admitted to police he had been drinking, however his last drink was about two hours prior.

Following a positive roadside breath test, O'Brien was taken to Wellington police station where he returned a reading of 0.136 - almost three times the legal limit of a fully licenced driver.

His licence was immediately suspended.

In court defence lawyer David Pheeney conceded the offence was aggravated by the fact his client had been on a provisional licence and had passengers in his vehicle when he was caught by police.

Mr Pheeney said it wasn't his client's intention to drive in the hours leading up to being detected by police, however had been with friends when he made the "very serious poor judgement" to drive his girlfriends car home with two passengers.

He argued O'Brien - who was a second year apprentice carpenter and helped on a number of rural properties - had a great need for a licence.

"He helps run 11 properties within a 30-40 kilometre radius. It requires him to go out in the mornings, after work an on weekends to check stock. He also assists the family in transporting machinery by driving escort vehicles," Mr Pheeney said.

Mr Pheeney said his client had learned his lesson after completing the traffic offenders program, and in a letter to the court explained he was "disgusted" in his actions that night, not realising he could have killed his passengers or members of the community.

"He's a young man who has learned his lesson," Mr Pheeney said.

Magistrate Stephen Olischlager took into account O'Brien's early plea, lack of criminal history and need for a licence.

He also recognised his good character was was supported by references which indicated he was "a young man whose doing his best to get ahead, to learn the trade in terms of his apprenticeship, to keep working in the farming industry".

However Magistrate Olischlager said these were not unusual factors in this type of offending, and the consequence of his actions could have been "tragic".

"The court sees far too often young people make the very stupid decision to drive home, and it can often lead to very tragic consequences," he said.

"This is the second most common offence in NSW every year. A message has to be sent if you're going to run that risk, that you will face severe consequences."

O'Brien was convicted and fined $800. He was also disqualified from driving for three months and ordered to install an interlock device for 12 months.