Police have praised drivers for their decisions about drink driving with almost 200 fewer people detected drink driving at the end of this operation than for the same campaign last year., NSW Police say
As part of the Enhanced Enforcement Program, police targeted alcohol-impaired motorists during ‘Operation Drink Drive 2’ – which started at 0001hrs Friday 2 November and ended last night (Sunday 4 November).
During the 72-hour operation, police conducted 192,592 random breath tests and charged 250 people with drink driving.
One life was lost on NSW roads during the Operation Drink Drive 2 period.
About 7.45pm Saturday 3 November 2018, an 18-year-old male was working as a pizza delivery driver when he stopped his Ford Falcon on Billbabourie Road to make a delivery. After he left the vehicle, it’s believed it rolled down the street before striking him.
Emergency services attended and the treated the man; however, he died at the scene.
Traffic and Highway Patrol Acting Assistant Commissioner Julie Middlemiss said as the festive season approached people will see more random breath testing on NSW roads throughout summer.
"While this year’s total is 177 lower than the number of drink drivers detected during this operation last year – it is still 250 drivers too many," Acting Assistant Commissioner Middlemiss said.
"We would like to thank everyone who has thought about having a Plan B or making other arrangements if they were on a night out this year.
"There were still too many who chose to take a gamble on arriving home or arriving at their nearest police station. We will continue targeting those who choose to drink and drive as alcohol is over represented as a cause of crashes on our roads."
Items of interest for the final day of Operation Drink Drive 2 –
Long Jetty - A Long Jetty man will appear in court later this month after police discovered he had not held a licence since 1985. Officers from the Joint Traffic Task Force were conducting random breath testing on Tuggerah Parade at Long Jetty on Saturday 3 November when the Automatic Number Plate Recognition system detected an unregistered vehicle. A roadside breath test returned a negative result. Inquiries at the scene revealed the man had not held a licence since 1985 and his car had been unregistered for seven years. The 72-year-old man was charged with being an unlicensed driver (never held) and drive unregistered and uninsured vehicle. He will appear in Wyong Local Court 26 November 2018
Stanwell Tops - About 11.30am yesterday (Sunday 4 November 2018), a 47-year-old Stanwell Tops woman was stopped on Lawrence Hargrave Drive, Stanwell Park for a random breath test, near the ‘MS Sydney to Gong’ ride. She was submitted to a road side breath test which returned a positive reading. She was arrested and taken to Helensburgh Police Station where a breath analysis returned a reading of 0.239. Her driver’s licence was immediately suspended. She will be issued a Future Court Attendance Notice for High Range PCA. The 47-year-old is expected to appear in Wollongong Local Court on 18 December 2018.
Botany Bay - About 9.15pm yesterday (Sunday 4 November 2018), police stopped a blue Toyota Hilux on Gardeners Road at Eastlakes for a random breath test. The 24-year-old male driver produced
a NSW Learners Licence. It will be alleged he was the only person in the vehicle at the time it was stopped. The male driver was breath tested with a positive result. He was arrested and a subsequent breath analysis returned a reading of 0.152. The 24-year-old will appear in Downing Centre Local Court on 6 December 2018.
Key statistics
Central Metropolitan Region - Breath Tests – 28,423 Drink Drive Charges - 33
North West Metropolitan Region – Breath Tests - 44,073 Drink Drive Charges – 36
South West Metropolitan Region – Breath Tests 37,650 Drink Drive Charges – 41
Southern Region - Breath Tests - 35,042 Drink Drive Charges - 39
Northern Region - Breath Tests - 29,706 Drink drive charges - 74
Western Region - Breath Tests – 15,915 Drink Drive Charges – 27
Traffic and Highway Patrol Command - Breath Tests - 1783
