A Christchurch motorist was charged with drink-driving and dangerous driving after being stopped near Omarama on Saturday.
Police allege the man was travelling at 177kmh on State Highway 8 at 9.30am and when stopped returned a breath-alcohol level of 603mcg.
He had three passengers and police say he had three previous convictions for drink-driving.
Police could not provide the Otago Daily Times with further details of the incident yesterday but are using it to illustrate the need for their summer holiday policing programme along popular driving routes.
In a press release, acting southern district road policing manager Senior Sergeant Steve Larking said police were ''stepping up'' their enforcement on roads between Omarama and Milford Sound.
One operation, involving unmarked highway patrol cars, began at the weekend.
More than 200 infringement notices were issued for speeding and poor driving between Friday and Monday .
One driver was stopped twice within a short period of time by separate police patrols and issued infringement notices for speeding.
Another driver, allegedly travelling at 139kmh on State Highway 97 near Five Rivers, received infringement notices for speeding and for unsafe overtaking, after being reported by other motorists.
Snr Sgt Larking said data gathered by police indicated there had been a steady increase in the number of *555 calls from members of the public reporting risky driving.
Operations running until March would provide a highly visible police presence on holiday routes, he said.
''We know that we get lots of complaints about driving behaviour on these roads over the summer.''
Police would also continue to use unmarked highway patrol cars, and speed cameras would be deployed across Southland and Otago over the holiday period.
• A Queenstown man was so appalled by an Indian tourist's driving on the Queenstown-Glenorchy road on Tuesday evening he tailed him to his hotel and called police.
The tourist, aged 30, was arrested at 5.30pm and charged with dangerous driving.
The rental car firm cancelled his contract. Senior Constable Chris Blackford, of Queenstown, said: ''He allegedly crossed the centre line approximately 20 times and double-yellow lines three times.''
The man is due to appear in court on Monday.
At 7pm on Tuesday, police spoke to an American driver after receiving a complaint about his overtaking on State Highway 6 past Jack's Point.
He was issued with an infringement notice.
- Additional reporting Mountain Scene
