KEY POINTS:
A mother who let her 14-year-old daughter take over driving because she was too drunk to continue was twice the legal limit five hours after beginning her journey, say police.
"God only knows what the level was when she started," said Senior Sergeant Bruce Jenkins.
The Auckland woman, who has not been identified, was heading to Tolaga Bay with the teenager and three other children, aged between 5 and 10, in the car.
Officers received reports of a car being driven erratically along State Highway 2 between Matata and Whakatane, twice narrowly missing oncoming trucks when it crossed the centre line.
When the car was stopped at 8am on Tuesday in White Pine Bush Rd, on the outskirts of Whakatane, police were "absolutely amazed and horrified" to discover a 14-year-old behind the wheel and the mother drunk in the passenger seat.
Police said the girl took over the driving when her mother started falling asleep behind the wheel.
"This was a multiple fatality just waiting to happen," Mr Jenkinssaid.
"We are very lucky that other drivers on the highway were so vigilant and, with police, took the action they did to prevent what could have been a real tragedy on our roads."
Motorist Joshua Phillips called police when he saw the erratic driving and continued to follow the car.
"She nearly hit two trucks ... probably could have taken us all out," he told One News.
Mr Jenkins said the mother was behind the wheel when the dangerous driving was reported. She had only a learner's licence.
The 35-year-old woman has been charged with driving in breach of her learner's licence and further charges are likely, including driving with excess breath alcohol and aiding and abetting a 14-year-old to drive while drunk. She will appear in court in Whakatane, though a date has not yet been set.
It is thought the teenage girl had been driving for about 10 minutes when the car was stopped. She would not face charges, Mr Jenkins said.
The mother has been suspended from driving for 28 days and a referral has been made to Child, Youth and Family.
However, the family were met at the Whakatane police station by other family members and the girl was not taken into CYFS custody.
The incident happened on the same day that several drivers stopped a car being driven erratically on a Southern Alps road and removed a girl from the backseat. The driver, who was on a drug rehabilitation programme, was charged with careless driving offences.
National road policing manager Superintendent Dave Cliff said both cases showed that the public would not tolerate driving behaviour which might have been accepted 10 years ago.
"People have had a gutsful. That allows police to concentrate on the minority group who are repeat offenders."
