Martin de Vries, 59, was fined R1500 or 100 days in jail after pleading guilty to driving over the limit.

He told magistrate Sean Lea he had been celebrating Father's Day with a friend when he was called by his wife, who needed a lift.

"My wife sounded agitated, and insisted that I fetch her at home even after I had explained to her that I had been drinking and should not drive," De Vries said.

He believed he was not over the limit or incapable of driving.

"I did it against my will, but to please my wife," he said.

De Vries, who has been previously convicted twice for drunk driving, drove straight into a road block, where he learned his blood-alcohol level was 0.08.

Lea said the last of De Vries' two convictions was 26 years ago, and for this reason the court would treat him as a first-time offender.

He said new legislation required the court to suspend De Vries' driver's licence for 10 years due to his previous convictions, but to do so would not be in the interests of justice.

De Vries' licence was suspended for three months.