A man has been issued a court attendance notice for separate PCA offences after being stopped twice by police in Sydney yesterday.
About 9.50am (Saturday 26 December 2020), officers attached to Liverpool Highway Patrol were conducting mobile speed enforcement on the Hume Highway in Liverpool, when they observed a black Volkswagen Polo travelling well in excess of the 60km/h speed limit.
The vehicle was checked on radar travelling at 116km/h near the intersection of Passefield Street.
Officers stopped the vehicle, driven by a 26-year-old man from Cartwright, who was unable to produce his class C P1 NSW driver's licence when requested.
Inquiries revealed the driver had been stopped at 5.45am the same day by officers attached to St George Highway Patrol, where he was charged with Mid-Range PCA and his licence was suspended on the spot.
The driver was subjected to another roadside breath test, which also returned a positive result.
He was placed under arrest and taken to Green Valley Police Station where he was subjected to a breath analysis, and allegedly returned a reading of 0.019 grams of alcohol per 210 litres of breath when restricted to a .000 BAC.
The 26-year-old was issued with a field court attendance notice for the following offences:
• Novice driver drive with novice range PCA - 1st offence
• Drive motor vehicle while licence suspended - 1st offence
• Class A m/v exceed speed >45 km/h
He will appear before Liverpool Local Court on the 27 January 2021.
The state-wide road-safety operation started at midnight Thursday 24 December 2020 and concludes at 11.59pm on Sunday 3 January 2021.
Double-demerit points are in force throughout the period for speeding, seatbelt, mobile phone and motorcycle helmet offences.
NSW Police officers will also be targeting other high-risk driver behaviour, including the Four Ds; drink, drug, dangerous and distracted driving.
So far, nearly 2,100 speeding fines and almost 1,500 infringement notices have been issued for other driving offences.
Police are also concerned about the high number of provisionally licensed drivers that are being caught for serious speeding offences.
Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb, said community safety is always the main priority for police.
"After the year that we have had, we want the community to arrive at their destinations safely to celebrate the festivities with family and friends. Help us keep you and your loved ones safe, there is no excuse for reckless and selfish behaviour," Assistant Commissioner Webb said.
"Police will have a presence on all roads across the state, from major motorways to rural backroads, so have a Plan B to get home safely if you're drinking, keep to the speed limit and always wear seatbelts.
"We continue to encourage the public to report anyone they see or know of breaking the law with the Four Ds – drink, drug, dangerous and distracted driving – to Crime Stoppers."
Items of interest from day three includes:
About 2.45pm on Saturday 26 December, officers from Mid North Coast Highway Patrol were performing stationary speed enforcement duties on Pacific Highway in Kundabung, when an orange Ford Mondeo was detected travelling at 150km/h in a 100km/h zone. The driver was the sole occupant in the vehicle and was not displaying P-plates as required. The 18-year-old female driver was issued an infringement notice for P2 driver exceed 100km/h - over 45km/h and not comply P2 licence condition not display P plates. She was also issued with a notice of suspension and registration plates were seized from her vehicle.
At 2:30am on Saturday 26 December, a 17-year-old male P2 driver from Auburn was detected driving at 142km/h in a marked 60km/h zone on the Western Distributor at Pyrmont. At the time the road surface was wet, and due to his speed, it took him over 300m to come to a stop upon sighting police. He was issued a court attendance notice for Drive Speed/Manner Dangerous and Exceed Speed >45km/h to appear before Downing Centre Local Court on 11 January 2021. His licence was immediately suspended.
At 5.25am on Saturday 26 December, officers attached to Coffs Harbour Highway Patrol detected a vehicle with Queensland registration travelling at 82km/h in a 60km/h zone, on the Pacific Hwy at Coffs Harbour. A 72-year-old man was stopped, and checks revealed that his NSW Drivers Licence was suspended due to a Fine Default. He was issued a Penalty Notice for the Exceed Speed (Over 10km/h) and a Field Court Attendance Notice Drive Whilst Suspended. He was informed not to drive prior to rectifying his licence status. At 6am, the man was again stopped and issued a further Field CAN, before he was stopped for a third time for driving at 7.40am. The man was arrested and taken to Coffs Harbour Police Station where he was charged with all three matters and given conditional bail to appear in Coffs Harbour Local Court on 25 January 2021. He was detected driving whilst suspended 3 times in 2 hours 15 minutes.
At 9pm on Saturday 26 December, Campbelltown Highway Patrol officers detected a Blue Holden sedan performing driving suspiciously at the intersection of The Kraal and Blair Athol Drive, Blair Athol. The driver allegedly attempted to evade police but was stopped a short time later. A 30-year-old male from Kelso produced a NSW Learner Licence. Officers found he was driving unsupervised with no other passengers or L plates affixed to his vehicle. He was subjected to a roadside breath test, which returned a positive result, and arrested. He was taken to Eagle Vale Police Station where he was subjected to a breath analysis, and returned an alleged high-range reading of 0.265 of alcohol per 210 litres of breath. The driver's licence was confiscated, and his driving privileges suspended. He was issued a Field Court Attendance Notice for driving with a high range prescribed concentration of alcohol (second offence), learner driver drive unaccompanied and not complying with the conditions of a learner licence - not display L plates. He is due to appear at the Campbelltown Local Court on the 2 January 2021.
Key statistics (progressive total):
Speed infringements: 2108
Breath tests: 48,502
PCA charges: 119
Major crashes: 153
Fatalities: 1
