Police catch 186 drink-drivers on first night of two-day blitz

Photo / Hawke's Bay Today

A drunk driver who tried to reverse out of a police checkpoint and another who blew nearly three times the legal limit were among 186 busted on the first night of a two-day blitz on boozing.

The weekend marked the second year of the transtasman Operation Unite to challenge New Zealand's drinking culture.

"You do think because we've advertised so much more that we're going to be out in force, and your chances of getting caught drink driving are fairly high, that it's still very disappointing that you catch 190-odd," said Inspector Tracy Patterson, national alcohol programmes manager.

One Wairoa driver blew 1046mcg. The legal limit is 400mcg.

"That's a lot of drinking," Ms Patterson said. "You would have seen the front page of the paper where the reporter drank eight bottles of beer [referring to a Weekend Herald study]. Well, that takes you to the limit of 400, so you can just imagine what 1000 is.

"I mean, I couldn't physically walk, let alone getting in the car and putting the key in the keyhole."

Meanwhile, a Wellington driver who tried to back out of a police checkpoint has been charged with dangerous driving.

The police are also alarmed that of 286 controlled-purchase operations - where undercover minors were sent in to buy alcohol - 30 stores made sales.

"It's right across the media saying we're coming out, we're going to be checking tonight ... Yet we still get as many sales as we did," Ms Patterson said.

"Unless we had said, 'We're coming at this specific time and here's a photograph of the young person', I don't know what else we can do."

But on the bright side, she said, police had worked well with 200 staff from agencies such as ACC, councils and Maori wardens, handing out hundreds of Alcohol Advisory Council intervention packs.

"Even if only one in 10 takes the time to go through the intervention pack, reads the messages and makes a change in their drinking, then that may help save a life."

She said results so far were provisional - with some police districts yet to submit - but alcohol-related arrests appeared down on last year.

"They are 127 compared with 206 for the same time period last year."

Across the Ditch, New South Wales police booked 329 drink-drivers over two nights, from 39,432 random tests.

In Wollongong, a 26-year-old man has been charged with manslaughter after a 46-year-old fell and hit his head, later dying, following a pub fight.

Other incidents police dealt with included the death of a 47-year-old man after he was hit by a car in Bondi, a man tasered to break up a drunken brawl in Potts Pt and a glassing in Kingsgrove.

Busted boozing

* 186 caught drink-driving, of 31,777 cars stopped

* 41 drivers elected blood tests, to be analysed

* 472 other offences at checkpoints

* 68 liquor ban breaches, 230 warnings

* 23 liquor infringement notices to under-18s

* 30 booze outlets sold to minors, of 286 tested