About 30 drivers a week are being picked up and prosecuted for excess alcohol offences in Hawke's Bay, with between three and four crashes a week caused by drink-driving.
During the first six months of this year, 292 people were picked up in Napier, 385 in Hastings, 60 in Wairoa and 35 in Central Hawke's Bay for a total of 772. That figure was on track to echo the 2008 figure of 1573 throughout Hawke's Bay.
``Alcohol and speed are the two biggies,'' Sergeant Nigel Hurley of the Napier Police Strategic Traffic Unit said.
A crash and subsequent arrests early last Sunday morning after an incident involving three young drivers underlined a problem that police were determined to hit hard.
The 17, 18 and 22-year-old drivers arrested after allegedly racing each other all blew excess breath-alcohol readings of about 580 micrograms. The legal limit is 400 micrograms _ or 150 micrograms for people under 20.
Mr Hurley said many people were under the impression the specialist Tactical Alcohol Group (TAG) units only began putting the pressure on during weekends and around the Christmas season.
``Not so _ they are out there all the time now, day and night, urban and rural.''
He said alongside the TAG units officers from Highway Patrol, the Strategic Traffic unit and general duty patrols were on the roads staging random stops and checkpoints.
Mr Hurley said he had come across three drink drivers at 9.15am _ and others at checkpoints set up at 2pm.
``We are out there at all times.''
While checkpoints were often spotted on main arteries like Breakwater Rd, Taradale Rd, Omahu Rd and on SH2 around Awatoto and Clive, Mr Hurley said all roads were now in the mix.
``It can be anywhere. What people have to remember is that we are out there.''
It was also not a problem confined to the young.
``It's the young, the middle-aged and the old. It is men and women,'' he said.
The message for some appears not to get through. In 2008 in Hawke's Bay, 87 people were caught drink-driving more than once.
30 Bay drink-drivers nabbed every week
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