One person was caught trying to flee from a police checkpoint in Taieri Rd, Wakari on Tuesday at 7.10pm after allegedly going on a drunken supermarket run.
About 20 minutes later, a teenager was summoned to appear in Dunedin District Court after recording a breath alcohol level of 501mcg, Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said.
On Wednesday at 2.05am, a man living in Queens Dr, South Dunedin, was awoken by a thunderous "bang" from the front of his house.
He went outside to investigate and found a car crashed into the front of his house.
The driver, a 30-year-old man, then got out of the car and walked off.
He was followed by the residents of the home while they called police, and he was found soon after in Andersons Bay Rd.
Officers discovered the man had driven his friend’s car down Queens Dr when he lost control and crashed into a parked car.
That parked car was then shunted into another parked car.
The man’s car then ended up smashing through the resident’s fence and into the house.
Police had the man undergo breath testing procedures, and he recorded a breath alcohol level of 1006mcg — over four times the legal limit of 250mcg.
Police also discovered the man had bail conditions not to operate any vehicle with an alcohol level over 0mcg.
He then elected to have a blood sample taken.
The man was arrested and charged with dangerous driving and failing to stop to ascertain injury.
At 9.25pm on Tuesday, Surrey St residents were also startled to hear a loud bang coming from their street.
When they went outside, they saw a man had crashed into a lamppost.
The 46-year-old attempted to drive off, despite his airbags having deployed in the crash.
Police eventually found the man with his car nearby, in Bathgate St, where he was spoken to and underwent breath-testing procedures.
He recorded a breath alcohol level of 786mcg.
The man was arrested and charged with drink-driving, dangerous driving and breaching bail.
On Tuesday at 4.15pm, 61-year-old motorcyclist was pulled over for going 95kmh in the 50kmh zone in Brighton Rd.
Snr Sgt Bond said the man was "initially unco-operative", however eventually provided his details.
His licence was suspended for 28 days and he was handed an infringement notice for exceeding the speed limit by 45kmh.
Fifteen minutes later, police saw a 17-year-old speeding down Kaikorai Valley Rd.
He was going 89kmh in the 50kmh zone, and when police signalled for the teen to stop, he sped off even faster to lose them.
Police did not follow due to his speed.
He was later found sitting in the passenger seat of his friends car, and was then arrested.
The teenager was charged with failing to stop, dangerous driving and also unlawful possession of ammunition.
He would appear in Dunedin Youth Court on December 30.
Snr Sgt Bond said the incidents were "disappointing to see".
"We are out and about over this summer period doing checkpoints and breath testing every driver ... those drivers that choose to drink and drive are putting themselves at risk.
"A couple of them have had car crashes into parked cars and lampposts ... they’re putting themselves and other road users at risk of injury or death by getting in the car and driving."
The crashes came less than 24 hours before the official holiday road toll began at 4pm on Christmas Eve.
Last year, Otago and Southland avoided any fatalities during the holiday road toll period.
Nationally, there were 15 deaths recorded — the lowest in the past five years.
A police spokesman said there would be more traffic on the roads over the summer break, and some people would be travelling in areas they were not familiar with.
"Please be patient, and if there is traffic building up behind you, pull over when it’s safe to do so and let people past.
"The best thing you can do is make sure you factor in additional travel time, so you can enjoy the journey without having to stress."
