Police have decided to "name and shame" boozed motorists in a bid to drive down Northland's horrendous drink-drive record.
Anyone who is convicted in the Whangarei and Dargaville District Courts of driving with an excess breath alcohol level will have their name and punishment published in the Northern Advocate.
About seven drunk drivers a day are being stopped on Northland's roads, with nearly 1000 drivers busted drunk behind the wheel in the past five months.
The campaign comes as police say a 19-year-old driver, alleged to have had nearly seven times the legal breath alcohol level, was arrested after crashing two stolen cars and trying to flee from officers in Whangarei. The teen, who was too drunk to appear in court yesterday and was held in Whangarei police cells until today, allegedly crashed a stolen car on SH1 near the intersection with Tauroa Rd about 6am on Tuesday.
The car spun out of control and the wheels were smashed off as it hit the footpath and stopped in the middle of the road. The driver went to nearby Gull service station and allegedly stole a car that was being refuelled.
Police say he drove off and smashed into bollards on Murdoch Cr before crashing on to a church lawn.
Police tackled him as he tried to run off. He was breath tested and allegedly recorded a level of 1058 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The limit for a driver under 20 is 150mcg.
A Traffic Alcohol Group (TAG) operation in Whangarei and the Far North last weekend netted 29 drivers believed to be flouting the drink-drive laws.
The highest reading was 1038mcg from a 52-year-old Waipapa man, who had a previous conviction for drink driving. A 32-year-old woman breath tested on Kaitaia's Redan Rd allegedly blew more than double the legal limit and had three previous convictions for the offence.
In Whangarei, of six motorists caught, five had previous convictions. Northland Road Policing manager Inspector Clifford Paxton said alcohol was suspected to be a factor in 10 Northland fatal crashes this year. He hoped the campaign would provide the incentive to think twice before drinking and driving.
"By highlighting those caught drink-driving, hopefully their families, associates and communities will get alongside them and stop them from doing it again. Hopefully it will stop them from becoming another statistic."
Statistics showed that between July and November nearly 1000 drink-drivers had been stopped on the region's roads. "It just gives you an idea of the scale of the problem," Mr Paxton said.
Northern Advocate editor Craig Cooper said the paper was happy to work with police and publish the names of drink-drivers. "Drink-driving needs to become a socially unacceptable practice. Hopefully, something like this helps."
Mr Cooper said there were no privacy or legal issues with publishing the names.
"These people have been convicted and sentenced in open court. That means their names and details of their convictions, unless a judge directs otherwise, are public information."
Name suppression for offences such as drink-driving are rare, and the paper would consider challenging suppression orders, he said.
* DRINK-DRIVE SHAME
Drink driving sentences from Whangarei and Dargaville District courts in the past week.
Kaya Kahuinia MURPHY, 24, mother, 567micrograms. Three months community detention, 9 months supervision, indefinite disqualification imposed: (Whangarei District Court)
Elizabeth Whare ASHBY, 58, meat handler, 767mcg, fined $700, disqualified for 6 months. (Dargaville District Court)
James Kevin IRVING, 19, unemployed, 440mcg, 60hrs community work, disqualified for 6 months. (DDC).
Moses BIRCH, 17, bush worker, 613mcg. 80 hours community work, 6 months disqualification. (DDC)
Karen Marie BENNETT, 33, student, 111milligrams, 150 hours community work, 13 months disqualification plus vehicle confiscated (DDC).
Tanara Kaharau Hamuera Kahu POU, 27, logger, 534mcg. 50 hours community work, 6 months disqualification. (DDC).
Amy Elizabeth WOODS, 25, unemployed, 461mcg. 60 hours community work, 6 months disqualification (DDC).
Kelsey Nicole CHURCHES, 17, student, 52mg. $250 fine plus 3 months disqualification (WDC).
Richard James RUDOLPH, 25, mill hand, 456mcg. $500 fine, 6 months disqualification (WDC).
Maloni Pita LATAILAKEPA, 28, salesman, 651mcg, $750 fine plus 9 months disqualification. (WDC)
Jonathon TUINIER, 22, builder, 144mg, 150 hours community work plus 9 months disqualification. (WDC)
Lyrae Isobel MINHINNICK, 42, driver, 187mg, $750 fine plus 6 months disqualification. (WDC)
Jennifer Sarah CHAPMAN, 17, dispatcher, 515mcg, $550 fine plus 6 months disqualification. (WDC)
Evelyn Christine LE GALLAIS, 25, student, 121mg, 120 hours community work plus 9 months disqualification. (DDC)
David Lloyd MITCHELL, 43, truck builder, 156mg, 80 hours community work plus 6 months disqualification. (WDC)
Joshua Ross SMITH, 27, dairy farmer, 197mg, $500 fine plus 6 months disqualification. (WDC)
Jonathon Lee KARKLINS, 27, plasterer, 137mg, $400 fine plus 6 months disqualification. (WDC)
Shane Henry POOLMAN, 39, mechanical technician, 654mcg, $450 fine plus 6 months disqualification. (WDC)
Peter Norman COLLINS, 18, sales assistant, 159mg, $400 fine plus six months disqualification. (WDC)
Robert Malcolm BURNS, 47, operator, 768mcg, 6 months community detention plus 18 months disqualification. (WDC)
• The breath-alcohol limit for adults is 400 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath and 150mcg for drivers under 20. The blood-alcohol limit for adults is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood and 30mg for drivers under 20.
Drinking drivers `named, shamed'
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