A New South Wales woman claims she had consumed vodka for breakfast before being caught high-range drink-driving by police twice on the same day.
On Saturday June 22, the P2 Provisional licence holder (green P-plater) was pulled over at 11:20am by Hills Highway Patrol on the M2 Motorway after being observed allegedly driving dangerously on the M7.
A positive roadside breath test led to the woman being taken to the Castle Hill Police station for further breath analysis.
Police allege she returned a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.284 – almost six times the legal limit for full licence holders.
However, as a provisional licence holder, she was not allowed to have any alcohol in her system, resulting in police issuing her a court attendance notice for high-range drink-driving, an immediate suspension of her licence and the temporary impounding of her car.
Later that day at 4:17pm, the woman attended the M2 tow compound at Macquarie Park where she retrieved the keys to her car and subsequently drove away, travelling on the M2.
Officers from Ryde Highway Patrol soon caught up to the woman, who allegedly told them the car had been driven by her male friend who ran away before the police arrived – though she later said this was a lie and admitted to driving the car.
Police allege a second roadside breath test returned another positive result, with the woman subsequently arrested again and taken to Gladesville Police station, where another breath analysis came back with a BAC of 0.216.
The woman was subsequently issued another court attendance notice for high-range drink-driving as well as for driving on a suspended licence, and released on bail on the condition that she doesn’t “occupy the driver’s seat of a motor vehicle”.
When talking to police, the woman said she had “consumed about 325ml of Smirnoff vodka at about 9.30am”.
In New South Wales, first-time drink-driving offences – where a BAC is found to be above 0.15 – can lead to a court-imposed fine of up to $3300, an 18-month jail sentence and a minimum of 12 months’ licence disqualification.
Additionally, all mid- and high-range drink driving offences require motorists to subsequently fit an alcohol interlock to their vehicle when they get their licence back.
Subsequent offences can result in $5500 fines and two years’ imprisonment.
Driving on a suspended licence attracts court-imposed fines of up to $3300, a six-month prison term, and minimum three-month driving disqualification.
