A Tauranga man is “lucky to be alive” after crashing his car through a fence while allegedly more than six times over the legal alcohol limit, says the head of Western Bay of Plenty road policing.

Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter said the 31-year-old was among several people caught drink-driving in Tauranga over the past week.

The man allegedly returned a breath-alcohol reading of 1835 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath on the evening of December 28 after his vehicle ploughed through a fence on Turret Rd.

The reading was more than six times the adult legal limit of 250 micrograms.

Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter. Photo / NZME

Hunter said as well as damage to the property owner’s fence, the man’s car sustained “moderate damage” and the driver was automatically suspended from driving for 28 days.

Because the driver opted for a blood test, Hunter said it would take two to three weeks for the results to be processed.

While only a handful of people had been caught drink-driving in Tauranga in the past week, Hunter expected that number to rise as New Year celebrations approached.

He urged people not to drive if they had consumed alcohol or non-prescribed drugs.

Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter at Tauranga Police Station. Photo / Alex Cairns

Drivers’ behaviour on police radar

Hunter said in general, driver behaviour across the district had been “very good” this holiday period, as police continued to target drivers speeding, using phones and not wearing seatbelts.

“Despite a lot of congestion, particularly in Tauranga’s CBD and on the highways, most people have been patient and not taking unnecessary risks.

“It seems drivers in general are taking on board our safety messages, which is exactly what we have hoped for, and that’s very pleasing.”

Compared to last year’s Christmas holiday enforcement period, Hunter said the infringement notices issued in the Western Bay of Plenty – particularly on SH29 – had dropped “considerably”.

“And we want to keep it that way as we head into the New Year and beyond.”

With a poor weather forecast for New Year’s, Hunter urged drivers to take “extreme care” on the roads.

“We need people to take extreme care, drive to the conditions, slow down, watch their following distances, wear a seat belt and put down their phones.”

Police had received “quite a few” complaints through the 105 phoneline about dangerous driving, though Hunter said callers sometimes forgot to provide the registration number of the offending vehicle.

“Rest assured, we follow up on all these complaints if we can identify the other vehicle and the driver.”

Anyone involved in a road-rage incident should immediately call 111, he said, warning motorists not to pursue the other driver as situations could escalate.

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.