27 December 2018

Speeding driver with baby and high-range drink driver among ‘reckless’ ACT motorists this holiday season

| Glynis Quinlan
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ACT police are concerned by ‘reckless’ driving offences detected already this holiday season.

A driver with a three-month baby in the car doing up to 70 kilometres an hour over the speed limit in Yarralumla and a speeding driver from McKellar with a blood alcohol level more than 2.5 times the legal limit are among the “reckless” driving offences detected in the ACT so far during the holiday period.

Both offences occurred on Sunday (December 23), with ACT Policing saying that some ACT motorists appear to have little or no regard for safety.

“Most road users are doing the right thing, but if you’re doing more than 40, 50, 60 or 70 km/h over the limit, in a fraction of a second you could kill yourself, other people in your car, or other road users,” Officer in charge of Traffic Operations Acting Station Sergeant David Wills said.

“It’s the same if you drive impaired by any substance – alcohol, illicit drugs or prescribed medication. Your ability to safely control a vehicle and the margin for error becomes so small, it’s just stupid to do it, and there’s no valid excuse for our officers to see a reading more than two and a half times the legal limit.

“We said last week that police would be on the roads targeting dangerous driving this holiday period, and we have,” he said.

“While I hope these high-range offences are the last recorded in Canberra this year, sadly, I suspect we’ll see more.”

ACT Policing has reminded ACT motorists that double demerits will remain in place until Tuesday 1 January 2019.

Details of the two driving offences are below.

Speeding up to 70km/h over the limit in Yarralumla

Police observed a red Mazda CX-5 at an estimated speed of 130km/h on Yarra Glen, Curtin (an 80km/h zone) about 5.45 pm on Sunday, 23 December 2018. The driver was apprehended a short distance later on Adelaide Avenue, Yarralumla having been detected travelling in excess of 150km/h in the 80km/h zone.

The 26-year-old female driver had a three-month-old infant in a baby capsule in the rear seat

She was issued with a Traffic Infringement Notice for exceeding the speed limit by 45km/h or more and will be fined $1841 and lose 12 demerit points due to the Christmas New Year double demerit period.

High-range drink driving in Bruce

Police detected a black Suzuki Swift travelling at 102 km/h on Caswell Drive, Aranda (a 60km/h area) about 10.00 pm on Sunday, 23 December.

The vehicle was stopped on Hayden Drive, Bruce, with the 58-year-old female driver from McKellar provided a positive roadside screening test for alcohol. She was taken to Belconnen Police Station for further breath analysis where she recorded a blood alcohol level of 0.132, which is more than 2.5 times the legal limit.

The driver, who told police that she had travelled from Pearce to McKellar, was served with an Immediate Suspension Notice suspending her licence and will be summoned to appear in the ACT Magistrate’s Court at a later date.

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