Police in Auckland stopped 13,810 motor vehicles and checked the drivers for excess breath/blood alcohol on the weekend and 140 of those drivers now face charges of driving with excess breath or blood to alcohol ratios.
Operation Wakeup 4, an operation that saw Police checkpoints set up on all on-ramps to motorways and major arterial routes exiting the city between 3am and 7am on Saturday and Sunday mornings, detected the drivers.
Two thirds of the 140 alleged drink drivers reside outside the Auckland City Police District and 29 of the 140 were aged under 20. One person was stopped twice during the four-hour period.
Officer in charge of the metro operation, Auckland City Road Policing Manager Inspector Heather Wells, said it was encouraging to think her staff had stopped 140 people from driving further while allegedly over the limit.
"However it was disappointing that so many drivers didn’t seem to be getting the ‘don’t drink and drive’ message," Ms Wells said.
"We will persist to do everything we can to get the message across to all drivers that drinking and driving just isn’t worth it."
Operation Wakeup was the fourth of its kind to be held in the city over the past 12 months. Last time – on October 9 and 10 – 15,860 drivers were stopped at checkpoints and 140 drivers were prosecuted for driving with excess breath/blood alcohol.
ENDS
Issued by Noreen Hegarty
Auckland City Police Communications Manager
Ph 09 302 6947 or 0274-951-589
Website: www.police.govt.nz