Police have scheduled special daylight operations to combat a concerning rise in drink driving during the day.
As bike riders know only too well, drivers impaired by alcohol are a serious risk to life and limb.
However, we probably learned from experience that the risk was lurking mostly at night and at weekends when party time could be extended from the bar to the road.
Now, new analysis from Victoria Police indicates that one in five drink drivers fined in Victoria were caught during daylight hours and half of the detections were on a weekday.
Figures show about 1200 of the almost 4900 drivers caught drink driving in the last financial year were nabbed between 6am and 6pm.
More than 400 were caught between 6am and noon.
This places them on the road at the same time as many bike commuters who may have noticed special police breath testing operations on commuting routes recently.
The night, 6pm to midnight, remains the most prolific time for drink drivers on the road with 1900 detected followed by midnight to 6am when almost 1800 were caught.
Saturday accounts for the most detections of any day with 1200 ahead of Sunday, Friday and Thursday.
About 400 drink drivers were caught on a Monday and 350 on a Tuesday.
Most drink drivers fined – more than 40 per cent - recorded a blood alcohol content between 0.07 and 0.10. About a third blew between 0.05 and 0.07.
Anyone caught drink driving faces heavy fines and a loss of licence.
First-time drink drivers face a $577 fine and driving disqualification for three months, even for low-level readings.
Figures analysed – covering 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 – included only drink drivers who received a fine, which applied for readings up to 0.15.
Those with higher readings must go to court where a magistrate imposes a fine and driving disqualification period.
About one quarter of all fatal crashes involve a driver or rider over the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.05.
Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir, Road Policing Command says: “People might think drink driving is something that only occurs after dark, but this data shows there’s a lot of offending in the day.
“That’s why police are out breath testing motorists around-the-clock. If you think you can run the gauntlet, be it day or night, think again.
“The penalties for drink driving are severe. The consequences of a being involved in a crash are even more serious and last a lifetime.”
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