.05 myth busted

By Kath Gannaway
A CRACKDOWN on hoons and drunk drivers by Warburton police is delivering results, but according to Leading Senior Constable Doug Fisher, there is still work to be done.
Sen Const Fisher has mind-boggling stories to tell of the stupidity he has seen on the roads since he returned to the Upper Yarra six months ago.
He was posted to Warburton in November with new Sergeant Paul Bell, and says there is a renewed focus on traffic enforcement which has already paid off in terms of reducing collisions and reining in anti-social driving behaviour.
One driver was so badly affected by drugs that he had driven on auto-pilot from Lilydale to Yarra Junction, Sen Const Fisher said.
“He was completely unaware he was being followed by police and slowly came to a stop in the middle of the Railway Road without brake lights and after weaving all over the place,” he said. “We found the driver asleep over the wheel. He thought he was still in Lilydale.”
Another drunk driver said he was going to get a taxi but couldn’t, so he had to drive. His excuse? He had to go and see his daughter in hospital.
“He was three times over the limit,” Sen Const Fisher said.
A 26-year-old Yarra Junction driver was caught and faced nine charges including dangerous driving and exceeding the alcohol limit by nearly three times – just eight days after he’d had his licence cancelled.
Then there’s the one about the drunk passenger who, after Sgt Bell had charged the drunk driver and dropped them back home, went back to collect the car.
“It’s things like that that just reinforces the fact that to some people the message is just not getting through,” Sgt Bell said.
“The urban myth is that there’s a tolerance up here,” he said. “There is no tolerance. If you breach the .05, you are going to get charged.”