Auckland drunk driver charged after blowing 4 times legal limit

November 30, 2023
That's despite a high road toll with many crashes involving alcohol.

Auckland police say officers will be ramping up their efforts to breath test drivers at checkpoints over the summer.

Police said they had begun a "series of operations" last weekend, one of which has already caught a driver with four times the legal limit in their system.

Inspector Juliet Burgess said more than 4000 tests were carried out across 19 checkpoints in the city.

“In one of these cases, the driver blew about four times the legal breath alcohol limit which is concerning to police," she said in a media release.

The 29-year-old man has been charged with driving with excess breath alcohol.

Nineteen people were found to be over the legal limit last Friday and Saturday, according to police.

Burgess said officers had seen cars trying to evade checkpoints — including one which allegedly included an unrestrained child.

"Police caught up with this vehicle and our staff were concerned to see there was an unrestrained child in the vehicle," she said.

"The vehicle was directed to return to the checkpoint, and we ensured there was advice provided by staff from Auckland Transport to this driver about the importance of making sure our kids are buckled up.

"Police issued 37 infringement notices to motorists for a variety of high-risk driving behaviours, such as speeding, restraints or driving using a mobile phone."

The police inspector said: "The upcoming holiday period should be a memorable time with your loved ones, rather than one for all the wrong reasons."

“A third of people who die on our roads were impacted by alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash.

"Expect to see police out and about leading up to Christmas and right across the summer holidays."

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