A man has been charged with high-range PCA after being caught allegedly driving five times over the legal alcohol limit, following a crash in Marulan on Wednesday.
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Just after 1.30pm, officers attached to Goulburn Traffic & Highway Patrol were called to reports of a two-vehicle crash on the Hume Highway.
On arrival, police found an 80-year-old female driver of one of the vehicles involved in the crash being treated at the scene.
The woman, and only occupant of that vehicle, was taken to Goulburn Base Hospital where she remains in a stable condition.
The driver of the second vehicle involved in the collision, a 32-year-old man, was uninjured during the incident.
He was submitted to a roadside breath test, which returned a positive result.
The man was arrested at the scene and taken to Goulburn Police Station, where he underwent a breath test analysis, which returned an alleged positive reading of 0.270.
The man, from the ACT, was charged with high range PCA and his driving privileges have been suspended. He will appear at Goulburn Local Court on Wednesday 16 September 2015.
Traffic & Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, said today’s incident was another example of drivers taking unnecessary risks on our roads.
“This driver has put himself, the driver of the other vehicle involved, and other road users in great danger,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said.
“He is lucky no one was seriously injured from his reckless and irresponsible behaviour.
“It has been proven that drink driving is a factor in about one in every five crashes in NSW where someone loses their life.
“Of the drink drivers who were killed in the five-year period from 2008 to 2012, 89 per cent were men, and 66 per cent were under the age of 40.
“In 2013, 53 motorists died as a result of alcohol being the factor in a fatal crash, where a further 993 were serious injured that year.
“Today’s incident is a reminder to other motorists – if you choose to break the law, you will face serious charges, loss of driving privileges, or the loss of a life,” he said.
Assistant Commissioner John Hartley reminds motorists that the effects of alcohol are wide ranging and impossible to avoid.
Motorists are reminded, after a big night out, you may still have alcohol in your system for much of the next day.
Alcohol can have the following effects on the body:
- Slows your brain so that you can’t respond to situations, make decisions or react quickly,
- Reduces your ability to judge how fast you are moving or your distance from other cars, people or objects ,
- Gives you a false sense of confidence – you may take greater risks, thinking that your driving is better than it really is,
- Makes it harder to do more than one thing at a time – while you concentrate on steering, you could miss seeing traffic lights, cars entering from side streets or pedestrians,
- Effects your sense of balance – a big risk if you ride a motorcycle, and,
- Makes you drowsy – you could fall asleep at the wheel.
Police are urging anyone with information in relation to similar incidents to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au/ Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
