1. Ways to draw attention to oneself:
A 22-year-old man arrested after driving on the wrong side of the road in Dickson with his vehicle headlights off is one of 119 drivers who have returned positive breath-tests in the ACT over the past four weeks.
Police stopped the vehicle around 11pm on Monday night (October 18) after driving on the wrong side of Antill Street in Dickson. The man, whose student visa had expired and who possessed only a NSW learner driver’s licence, later returned a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of 0.16, or eight times his permitted level. He will appear in the ACT Magistrates Court on January 4.
Over the past month (Sept 18 – Oct 18), 119 drivers returned positive results to roadside screening tests for alcohol and were required to submit to a formal test.
Of particular concern to police is the high number of repeat drink drivers who were apprehended during the period. Of the 107 drivers who were either arrested, summonsed or charged with drink-driving during the period, 49 (45 per cent) had previous apprehensions for the same offence.
Of these, two drivers with seven previous drink-drive offences and one with six previous offences were apprehended by police. One of the seven-time offenders, a 58-year-old male detected in Wanniassa on October 7, had a high-range BAC of 0.251.
“All drink-drivers pose a safety issue on our roads but repeat offenders are perhaps the greatest menace of all. We’re very disappointed to find that we are apprehending more repeat offenders now than we have before,” Traffic Operations Supt Mark Colbran said.
“To be caught drink-driving multiple times is reprehensible behaviour. These are people who have a callous disregard for their own safety, and that of anyone else on the road.”
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