Drunk taxi driver about to start shift

File photo / NZ Herald

A Coromandel cabbie, allegedly caught driving drunk this morning, was about to start her shift, police say.

The woman, who was stopped in her taxi shortly before noon at a checkpoint near Tairua, 37km southeast of Whitianga, allegedly blew an evidentiary breath alcohol reading of 568mcg. The limit is 400mcg.

Waikato police highway patrol supervisor Sergeant Paul Scoble said the woman, a taxi owner-operator in a Coromandel town, could have gone on to pick up passengers had she not been stopped.

"She wasn't on duty, (but) she was on her way to start duty,'' he told APNZ.

Mr Scoble said the arrest was all the more concerning because people often relied on taxis to get them home safely after they had been drinking.

"... It's tantamount to a betrayal of the trust placed on cabbies by members of the public to provide a safe, reliable and sober service,'' he said.

"Apart from the fact that it was during the day time, it's also the fact that it's someone of that calibre, which most people wouldn't expect.

"And it wasn't just a little bit over the limit - I mean, taxi drivers shouldn't have any alcohol anyway.''

Mr Scoble would not name the Coromandel town the woman operated out of, saying that would immediately identify her.

Taxi operators in Whitianga and Coromandel township said the driver was not one of theirs.

There is no taxi service in Tairua itself.

Mr Scoble said the woman would face drink driving charges in the Waihi District Court within the next couple of weeks.

A number of drivers had complained it was pointless to set up alcohol checkpoints during the day, but today's result showed there was a genuine risk, he said.

"This latest arrest follows a number last year where drivers were found intoxicated behind the wheel during the day. A number of drivers said the officers should be out catching burglars instead of picking on motorists but, as a matter of fact, about the same time the woman was being processed, a man was also arrested in relation to thefts ex-car.

"Irregular, frequent checkpoints on our roads not only act as a deterrent to drink drivers, they are also very effective in disrupting criminal activity.''

The Taxi Federation did not respond to a request for comment.