***Note: An image of the truck will be posted on the NSW Police Facebook site.**, NSW Police say*
Police from the Traffic and Highway Patrol and Tweed/Byron Local Area Commands charged 19 drink-drivers and had 86 drivers test positive to drugs during a three day operation in Tweed/Byron over the weekend.
One truck driver hauling a large excavator was charged with mid-range drink-driving and driving unlicensed during the operation.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy of the State’s Traffic and Highway Patrol Command said that the results were staggering, considering the high road toll.
"Despite the death toll on our roads, which now sits at 357, and the numerous warnings about drink and drug-driving, I am dumbfounded by how many drivers we have caught impaired during the operation.
"The Tweed/Byron Local Area Command is ranked number one in the state for alcohol related crashes, and there is an average of seven fatal crashes in the command every year.
"This is not a statistic to be proud of. It is a disgrace," Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy said.
Operation Mega Drive 2 started on Thursday 1 December and finished on Saturday (3 December 2016).
The operation primarily targeted drink and drug-drivers in the region; however, speeding, mobile phone use and not wearing seatbelts were also targeted.
During the operation, officers conducted 2599 random breath tests, with 19 drivers charged with drink driving, and conducted 425 random drug tests, with 86 drivers testing positive.
Officers also issues 101 fines for speeding, 29 for not wearing a seatbelt, 300 other infringements, and a total of 30 charges were laid.
A heavy vehicle driver was charged with mid-range drink-driving and driving unlicensed after his truck – which was carrying a large excavator – was pulled over on the M1 at Chinaderah on Thursday (1 December 2016).
The 49-year-old Queensland man was charged after returning an alleged reading of 0.131 and checks revealed he did not have a licence required for the heavy vehicle.
He is due to face Tweed Heads Local Court on 9 January 2016.
