One in 75 vehicles stopped by police in the Western Bay of Plenty over the past two weekends had an impaired driver, police say.
More than 11,000 drivers were tested at breath alcohol checkpoints around the region as part of Operation Tri City, a partnership between Bay of Plenty and Waikato police districts.
"Amongst this number, 153 impaired drivers were processed at these checkpoints – equating to 1 in every 75 vehicles stopped," acting Bay of Plenty District Commander Superintendent Tim Anderson said.
"This was a disappointing and significant number of impaired drivers on our roads putting themselves, their passengers and other road users at risk of harm on our roads. Imagine what may have happened if Police hadn't stopped them.
"What was particularly concerning was that several of those who were caught over the limit were at a checkpoint on State Highway 2 near Paengaroa in a 100km/h area."