Public report two of four drink-drivers at weekend
Drink-drivers can be caught in a variety of ways, as four islanders found out at the weekend.
The control centre receives one or two calls a day referencing someone’s driving and concerns of drink-driving, and more often than not those concerns stack up.
Two of the arrests made over the weekend were from calls made by the public.
‘The amount of calls we receive shows that the community does not tolerate drink-driving, and although we have officers doing stop checks, we are thankful that people are vigilant because drink-driving is a risk to the rest of the community,’ said Inspector Lisa Hart.
‘Quite often members of the public phone up the control room with concerns, whether they are following a vehicle driving in a bad way, or stood next to someone in a shop and they can smell alcohol on them and they see them getting into the driver’s seat.
‘If we do receive a call like this then we will try to locate the driver and sometimes callers will follow them from a safe distance so officers can catch up with them.’
Signs of drink-driving could look like regular swerving, hitting kerbs and unnecessary braking.
When officers pull someone over, they will ask basic questions and depending on the driver’s responses or if the officer can smell alcohol on the driver, then a breath sample will be requested. The limit is 35mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.
Just after 2am on Saturday, officers arrested a 26-year-old man following a crash at the top of the Val Des Terres. He blew 73mcg of alcohol in his evidential test in custody.
Later that morning, just before 9am, a 53-year-old man was arrested after giving a roadside sample of 76mcg. This arrest was made following reports from members of the public.
Just before 2am on Sunday a 24-year-old man was seen stumbling to a vehicle on the North Beach, and was arrested by officers when he was found putting the keys in the ignition and starting the car. He blew 97mcg at the roadside.
At 9.40pm on Sunday, another report from the public led to the arrest of a 48-year-old man, who gave a reading of 87mcg in custody.
If anyone has suspicions about drink-driving, they should report it to the police control room on 222222, or should call 999 in an emergency.
