Bay of Plenty Police are urging motorists to make a conscious decision to not get behind the wheel after drinking.
Police set up 15 checkpoints in Tauranga, Mt Maunganui, Papamoa and Te Puke over Friday and Saturday nights to target impaired drivers with the aim to keep our roads safe.
Of the 8513 breath tests conducted, 102 drivers were processed for excessive breath alcohol at checkpoints on Friday and Saturday night across the region.
Fourteen drivers had their licenses suspended immediately, and a further six drivers had their vehicles impounded.
Bay of Plenty Coastal Impairment Prevention Team Sergeant Mark Holmes says these results are extremely disappointing.
'We know this is a social time of year, and people are getting together and celebrating, but we want you to get home to your family safely for Christmas.
'Driving impaired is one of the four main contributors to death or serious injury on our roads.
'If you're in any doubt about whether you're safe or legal to drive, Police's advice is simple – don't do it.”
Motorists can expect to see Police out any time, anywhere, on roads across the Bay of Plenty district right throughout the summer, to ensure everyone gets to their destination safely.
3 comments
Good Job
Posted on 19-12-2022 07:07 | By Yadick
Good job by our Police. Thank you. To me the only way to get this message through about driving with excessive Breath alcohol, that is preached on an almost daily basis, is to impound the vehicle no matter how little they are over. Over is over. Fine the driver heavily. If they lose their job due to lack of vehicle or it was a company vehicle - tough. There's buses and bicycles remember. If you want to aim at impossible pie in the sky dreams like road to zero then it's time to stop flogging the horse and get bloody tough on it.
License suspended
Posted on 19-12-2022 08:25 | By First Responder
Drink driving? Loss of license for 6 months? Yeah, it's a bit of a pain in the butt aye? Hey, would you think twice if it was loss of license. I.e. Resit it all again. Have to drive with L plates, do a practical test to prove that you actually should have your license back. Might make a difference.
Great!
Posted on 19-12-2022 10:56 | By morepork
Vehicle impoundment sends a very real message and it is a good move. Loss of license may not be so effective, beause some people will drive anyway, on the assumption that they will not be caught. Driving standards are abysmal. I just did a trip from North of Auckland back to Tauranga and there were two occasions where I had to take evasive action to avoid a collision. One was on the Northern Motorway (toll road @ 100KPH) with someone cutting me off from the inside, because the car in front of them (travelling at the legal limit) was too slow... I honked and he gave me the finger, (made me smile), then I saw he had a woman and baby in the car. When we finally arrived at the Harbour Bridge he was two cars ahead of me in the slow-moving queue... It's insane.
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