Police blitzed drivers in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday. File photo / Bay of Plenty Times
Police blitzed drivers in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday. File photo / Bay of Plenty Times
KEY POINTS:
A 16-year-old girl was found to be six times over the legal limit when breath-tested during a weekend drink-drive blitz in central Auckland, police said today.
She was also unlicensed, had passengers who were 14 and 15 and was driving her grandmother's car without her knowledge.
Two constablesat the same checkpoint were nearly struck by another driver who was later found to be over the legal limit.
Police said several drivers caught during Operation Safer Auckland returned readings of over 1000, whereas the permitted level was 400.
The operation was run from 3am on Saturday and Sunday, a time when drivers were a high risk because of fatigue.
Almost 8000 vehicles were stopped and 91 drivers were found to have excess breath alcohol, 26 of them under the age of 20.
Six people were arrested, seven cars were impounded. Eighteen drivers had their licences suspended.
Police said they were concerned about the increase in the number of injury crashes in which alcohol was involved, adding that the victims in most cases were innocent parties.
