Police official said on Monday that a 64-year-old Australian man was charged with drunk driving while on his motorized wheelchair in a northern Australian highway.

Officials said the old man fell asleep at 10 a.m. on Friday in an exit lane near the tourist city of Cairns along the Captain Cook Highway in northern Queensland.

A passing police patrol noticed the wheelchair while passing motorists were trying to wake him up.

The man said he wanted to drive about nine miles to visit a friend.

Inspector Bob Waters said the man was breath-tested and found out that he is more than six times over the legal driving limit and charged the man with operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

Waters said people should also be aware that the drunk driving law should not be limited to just driving a car or truck but also cover other forms of vehicle like horses and bicycles and other classes of vehicle that covered by the drink-driving law.