Proactive police breathalyse pub patrons before they get in the car
A proactive move by Greater Western Sydney Highway Patrol officers may have saved several pubgoers their licences.
As part of Operation Enlighten, police attended a pub to allow patrons to test their blood-alcohol levels before they got in their cars to drive home.
The program is designed to help drinkers understand the effects of alcohol, particularly when it becomes difficult to determine whether they are .05.
"Many patrons were surprised that they were over the limit and will now think twice next time they are considering driving after consuming alcohol," NSW Police said.
A 2023 NRMA study found more than one in 10 drivers in NSW admitted to driving while over the 0.05 blood-alcohol limit. Further to this, 17 per cent of drivers got behind the wheel of a vehicle when they were possibly over the limit.
Of the 351 road fatalities recorded in NSW in 2023, as many as one in five were linked to alcohol consumption.
"Every life lost on our roads is a tragedy and has a lasting impact on not only the friends, families and communities of those involved, but on our first responders who attend far too many fatal incidents," NSW Minister for Police and Counter Terrorism Yasmin Catley said earlier this year.
"The NSW Police Force are out there day and night working to protect the community but they can’t do it alone. Everyone has a role to play when it comes to keeping our roads safe.
"Everyone has a responsibility to themselves, their passengers and other roads users every time they get behind the wheel."
Jonathan Jackson, 9th July 2024
