Driver caught 19 times over the legal blood alcohol limit.. at 8.40am

[Buzz Killington]

Woman driver records 0.385 . . . at 8.40am
Tuesday, 01 December 2009

A 21-year-old Richardson woman will be summonsed to court on a high-level drink-driving charge after recording a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of 0.385 – one of the highest recent levels recorded in the ACT.

ACT Policing General Duties officers were called to a minor collision on Yamba Drive in Isaacs on Wednesday (November 25) at 8.40am when they found the woman's stationary vehicle with damage apparent to its left-hand front and rear wheels. It appeared her car had collided with the kerb.

The woman driver recorded a positive result when subjected to a roadside screening test by police, then was conveyed to The Canberra Hospital with minor injuries. The results of a blood sample taken at the time of the incident and delivered to police today revealed the reading to be 0.385.

This reading is 19 times the driver's permitted BAC. The woman is the holder of a probationary licence which only permits a BAC of 0.02.

ACT Policing's Acting Commander Mark Colbran said that this woman's decision to drink and drive was reckless in the extreme, her level of alcohol impairment so profound that she endangered the lives of everyone she came near on the road.

"This high level indicates a lengthy period of alcohol consumption before this person made the decision to drive," A/Cmdr Colbran said.

"Police would again appeal to the community for its support in preventing people from putting the lives of others in such danger. If you know of someone who drinks and drives, call Police Operations on131-444, provide the details, and we will investigate."