Police left shocked after man’s huge blood alcohol reading

Police have been left shocked after a man was caught driving at more than quadruple the legal alcohol limit with a bottle of wine in hand. A driver drove past Nunawading Highway Patrol members with one hand on the steering wheel, the other knocking back a bottle of wine on Whitehorse Rd in the Mitcham area on Sunday. The Toyota Yaris driver was intercepted on Cochrane Street about 12pm and underwent a breath test, where he returned an alleged reading of .234 — more than quadruple the legal alcohol limit. The Ashburton man’s car was impounded and his license was immediately suspended. He’s set to face court for drink driving charges at an unknown date. It comes after nearly one in 60 drivers were found to have excessive alcohol in their system in a crackdown in Altona over the weekend. About 19 cars were impounded and 63 people were caught drink driving throughout the operation on Friday and Saturday night. Of the 63 people, five were also found to have drugs in their system. A 28-year-old Ardeer man rolled his car at Altona Meadows while trying to get away from police. He was taken to hospital and will reportedly be processed at a later date. A 32-year-old Point Cook man returned a reading of .164 after he was stopped at a booze bus, with his license suspended for 12 months. His car has also been impounded for 30 days and he will be summoned to court at a later date. Police have warned there’s a zero-tolerance policy for drink and drug driving, with penalties beginning at $577 and a three-month license suspension for offenders over 26 years old caught with a blood alcohol limit between .05 and .07. The penalties increase for those under 26 years old, caught with a BAC of .07 or above, required to have a zero blood or breath alcohol level, and those caught for second or subsequent drink driving offences.