There was "no barrier of defence" between an officer and a speeding car being chased by police in what a judge has described as a "close call".
It was "by default and not by design" the offender's driving did not cause injury or damage, Justice Louise Taylor said in a judgement published on Tuesday.
Kevin Thomas Clarke, 43, previously admitted a string of charges, including driving a motor vehicle at police, aggravated dangerous driving and failing to stop a motor vehicle for police.
The charges relate to a high-speed police chase the man led through multiple suburbs, including Civic streets, one early May 2022 morning.
The front-left wheel of Clarke's Volkswagen Jetta "completely just went off" not long after it hit a tyre-deflation device deployed by police at the intersection of Barry Drive and Marcus Clarke Street.
Clarke was handed a jail sentence of two years and nine months late last month, to be served by way of an intensive correction order.
The sentence factors in the eight months the man has already spent in custody for the offences.
He was also fined $2423.
"He almost hit me," the senior constable who narrowly escaped Clarke's speeding vehicle by jumping over a road barrier said on recorded body-worn camera footage.
Clarke reached 160kmh on only three wheels, and drove recklessly through suburbs and over greenbelts, before being arrested on foot.
He told police he had consumed "bugger all" methamphetamine that day.
"No one's ever got hurt by anything I've done," Clarke told a psychologist ahead of his sentencing.
The psychologist reported discrepancies between the offender's view of him and the reality of his actions.
She described this as not uncommon for people, like Clarke, diagnosed with ADHD.
The psychological report stated Clarke had little insight into his substance use, and that the man denied lying or stealing in claims directly at odds with his criminal history.
Clarke committed his most recent offences only a week-and-a-half after being granted bail for unrelated drug and weapon charges.
"It is my observation that the pathway to sobriety can often be paved with temptation," Justice Taylor said.
"And in the face of everyday challenges the motivation to resist that temptation, for those suffering with addiction, can wane."
Despite the offender's "mixed success with compliance in the community", the judge said Clarke's rehabilitation was still a "realistic prospect".
