Police are urging the public to get some sleep after a night on the booze, after several drivers got caught driving under the influence on Sunday morning.
Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond, of Dunedin, said police were called to the Waldronville area about 10.30am yesterday after a member of the public saw a car being driven erratically.
Police found the vehicle lying on its side on the edge of the road and a 23-year-old woman climbing out of it.
She underwent breath testing procedures and recorded a breath alcohol level of 878mcg.
The limit for drivers aged 20 years and over is 250 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol per litre of breath.
The woman's licence was suspended and she was charged with drink-driving and careless driving. She was summoned to appear in court at a later date.
An hour earlier, police found another driver allegedly recovering from a big night while behind the wheel.
Snr Sgt Bond said Dunedin police saw the 19-year-old woman on her phone while driving along Bayview Rd.
Police turned around to pull her over and checked the speed of the vehicle. They found she was allegedly driving at 77kmh in a 50kmh zone.
Police stopped and breath-tested the woman, who recorded a breath alcohol level of 250mcg.
She received an infringement notice for the speeding and cell phone use, and was summoned to appear in court for driving under the influence.
Also on Sunday, officers observed a woman reversing her car out of a driveway in Mulford St at 11.20am and stopped her to speak to her.
The 42-year-old had been drinking the night before and had not had much sleep.
She recorded a breath alcohol level of 521mcg and was to appear in court at a later date.
Snr Sgt Bond reminded people who had been drinking late to wait at least 12 hours since their last drink before getting back behind the wheel.
‘‘You need to allow the amount of alcohol you’ve consumed to leave your system if you've drunk a substantial amount.
‘‘You need to do this together with eating and having some water - otherwise you are endangering the public.’’
