A 26-year-old driver who allegedly tried to avoid a breath test at Murrurundi on Saturday night by speeding the high way at 175 kilometres per hour was finally arrested at Willow Tree and slapped with a string of charges.
Hunter Valley Highway Patrol, who had set up an RBT trap on Mayne Street at Murrurundi on June 8 as part of a state-wide long weekend traffic operation, say they signalled for the driver to stop at the testing site when he sped away.
Officers gave chase in a high-speed pursuit, before the driver pulled over on Merriwa Road at Willow Tree. Police allege a roadside breath test returned a positive result and a further test at Quirindi Police Station returned a reading of 0.173.
The man was charged with high-range drink driving, speeding and police pursuit and will face court in Scone on Wednesday, July 11.
In a separate incident, a 48-year-old driver, who was allegedly so intoxicated that he fell out of his car onto the roadway when he pulled into a service station at Bolwarra on Saturday afternoon, has been similarly charged with drink-driving and will appear in Maitland Local Court next month.
Police say several members of the public phoned the local constabulary after seeing a Mitsubishi Outlander swerving along the Tocal Road at Paterson about 3.30pm on Saturday. Witnesses followed the vehicle until it pulled into a service station on Paterson Road at Bolwarra when they saw the driver apparently fall out of the car.
Maitland Highway Patrol officers stopped the man as he left the service station and subjected him to a roadside breath test which they say returned a positive result. A further test at Maitland Police Station allegedly returned a reading of 0.307.
Police issued more than 4000 speeding tickets and charged 237 people with drunk-driving, notwithstanding officers called to 255 major crashes and recorded more than 650 positive drug detections; statistics which lead police to scold drivers' "unacceptable" behaviour.
"Over the weekend, two people lost their lives in separate crashes at Bateau Bay and Tomingley." Highway Patrol assistant commissioner Brett McFadden said, "While this is significantly less than the same period last year, it is still one life too many.
"While the rest of the state abides by the road rules, these few irresponsible drivers are extremely lucky they did not harm themselves or other road users."
A state-wide road policing operation ran throughout the King's Birthday long weekend on Friday and ending on Monday, June 10.
