A learner motorcyclist has had his licence suspended and will face court, after being caught riding while intoxicated twice in two hours in Belconnen over the weekend.
At 3.30pm on Sunday (27 September), the 28-year-old motorcyclist was observed by ACT Policing members as riding with a passenger without a helmet along Belconnen Way.
After being pulled over for a roadside breath test and subsequent breath analysis, the rider returned a positive result of 0.114, above the 0.00 limit for learner licence holders.
The motorcycle rider’s licence was suspended, and he was released from custody to appear in court at a later date.
Just under two hours later at 5.15pm, ACT Policing member observed the same man running a red light in the Belconnen area.
He was again pulled over for a roadside breath test and subsequent breath analysis, returning another positive result of 0.117.
The 28-year-old will face the ACT Magistrates Court on 8 October, facing two charges of drink driving, riding with a suspended licence and riding through a red light.
The licence suspension comes after another man was found to be four times the legal limit when he crashed his vehicle in a Wanniassa carpark a few days earlier (24 September).
The 52-year-old driver of a ute was reversing out of a carpark when he collided with another vehicle and was stopped by members of the public who contacted the police.
The man returned a blood alcohol concentration of 0.224 at the Tuggeranong Police Station while in custody following the incident.
Detective Inspector Boorman reminded Canberrans of the dangers of drink driving.
“You don’t even have to be on the road to see the immediate consequences of drink driving,” he said.
“Fortunately, in this instance (on 24 September) no one was injured but it is not hard to imagine the horrific consequences if this collision had happened on the road at full speed.
“Our message could not be clearer – if you are going to consume alcohol just don’t take the risk, don’t drive.”
