Drink driving continues despite sniffers

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 11, Issue 493, 6 July 1993, Page 7

Drink driving continues despite sniffers

WAIOURU POLICE FHJE

BY CONSTABLE

•CHRIS

SCALES

• Have we learnt not to drink and drive in Waiouru? I don't think so. A serious motor accident occurred in Hassett Drive, just past the Army Museum in the early hours of Friday moming. Three soldiers were injured in the accident when the vehicle they were travelling in ran into a power pole. One of the injured, a 19-year old female, was airlifted to Palmerston North Hospital by helicopter with serious head and facial injuries. This accident is still being investigated, but it appears to have happened as a result of alcohol. The driver nearly killed himself and passengers and now may be facing serious charges. The vehicle was unregistered, had no Warrant of Fitness, and bald tires. We were out and about on the Thursday night prior to this accident, checking on drink driving. Many people were stopped and checked with the new Passive Alcohol Tester (sniffer). We were astounded by the number of people driving around Waiouru, going to and from various functions and drinking establishments and the amount of vehicles parked around these venues. It is quite obvious that some people have become complacent about drink driving. I know that some people were even approached by staff at the Oasis and offered lifts

home in the shuttle. They were ignored. The feeble excuse of "we just live down the road" is rubbish, as accidents can still happen 'just down the road from home' as was highlighted on Friday morning. Those who choose to drink and drive let down the responsible people who we saw utilising the shuttle and having 'life-guards' driving drinkers around. Be prepared for some blitzes. Don't drink and drive. • In the early hours of Sunday morning, at 12.50am, the chemist shop in Waiouru was broken into and an amount of drugs stolen. Some residents in the area heard the chemist alarm activated before the offenders disabled it. Did you hear the alarm? Other residents reported a lot of traffic movement along Queree Drive at about this time. Were you driving past the Community centre around this time and did you notice anything unusual or a strange car in the area? If you were out and about in the area around this time, we would like to hear from you. • Thanks to information from the community, we are now following up a positive line of inquiry into the burglary a couple of weeks ago at the Bojangles Restaurant in the Oasis. Any further information would be helpful. • The evacuation of motorists trapped in ■ their cars on the Desert Road last week went smoothly, thanks to the Army and especially to all the personnel from 1 Armoured Group and the Fire Station. My special thanks to Major Niel

Bleasdale and his staff for the assistance they gave to Police in getting this evacuation off the ground and into action in such a short time. We have had many letters and phone calls from rescued motorists with nothing but praise for all those involved. Without all your help, we would have had very serious problems. Even after the evacuation, we still had accidents on the roads, with one motorist ignoring road closed signs and colliding into a vehicle driven by workmen clearing the road. • A warning about leaving your cars unlocked: a spate of thefts from cars have been reported. Remove attractive items from view and lock up. A 35-year old local woman was arrested for theft last week and will appear in Court this month. • On the subject of theft, the AGI has installed cameras in the supermarket and other areas, in an effort to control shop-lifting. There is a problem of shop-lift-ing in the supermarket and I have viewed some tapes which clearly show some of you stealing. I know who you are. The manager, John Peden, advises that as from this week, anybody caught shop-lifting will be referred to us and we will prosecute. • The Police recruiting officer will be in Waiouru next Tuesday 13 July. If anyone wishes to see him, please give us a ring and we will make an appointment for you. Please be more aware of driving after drinking, take care on the roads and have a safe week.