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A Norwegian tourist who attempted to evade police and almost crashed into a patrol car was among 45 people caught in a drink-driving blitz in Tauranga.
Police say the number of people caught in the four-day campaign, which ended on Sunday, suggested Tauranga was one of the country's most dangerous places to drive after dark.
The 27-year-old Norwegian man was clocked at 120km/h in a 50km/h zone before he tried to hide from police, driving off without his lights on and almost colliding with the patrol car.
Police said he had almost twice the legal alcohol limit when he was caught on Papamoa Beach Rd on Friday night. He was charged with driving with excess breath-alcohol and dangerous driving.
A 29-year-old Katikati woman who drove into a building and car after driving drunk to her partner's work premises was among other motorists who were caught.
The woman was almost 2 1/2 times over the limit of 400 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath, police said.
More than 4000 drivers were tested in the blitz, which resulted in 45 people being charged with drink-driving offences (seven having their licences suspended for 28 days) and four vehicles being impounded.
Senior Sergeant Ian Campion, head of the Tauranga strategic traffic unit, said the numbers caught were extremely disappointing.
"All these drivers are a fatal or serious injury crash in the making."
"[They make] Tauranga one of the least safe places to drive during the hours of darkness," Mr Campion said.
The blitz was part of Operation Enough, a western Bay of Plenty campaign against drink-driving running from July 1 to 7 which coincided with a national campaign targeting drivers.
The second round of the national campaign Operation Raid ended on Saturday and netted 236 drink-drivers among 26,750 stopped.
National road policing manager Superintendent Dave Cliff said drink-drive prosecutions were increasing by about 1000 a year, and alcohol-related injury and fatal crash numbers were also rising.
"Even though nowadays most thinking people say they do not drink and drive, the evidence here shows that there are more out there than we like to admit."
The first Operation Raid in May breath-tested about 43,000 drivers: more than 350 were charged.
