A 17-year-old Conder boy will appear before the ACT Children’s Court in September after he was detected speeding and drink-driving on Saturday night, 7 August.
About 10.50pm Saturday, police observed a white Mitsubishi Lancer, with one working headlight, travelling south on Drakeford Drive, Greenway at 103km/h in the signposted 80km/h zone.
When police stopped the vehicle, police observed the driver had six passengers on board, including an unrestrained passenger in the rear footwell and another person in the boot.
Despite the driver being a 17-year-old holding a provisional licence, meaning he was subject to a zero blood-alcohol-limit (BAC), there were no P-Plates displayed on the car, and a roadside screening returned a positive result for alcohol.
The driver subsequently recorded a BAC of 0.238, which is more than four times the limit for a fully-licensed driver.
Officer in Charge of ACT Road Policing Detective Inspector Donna Hofmeier said incidents like this should never happen.
“I’m astounded at this. It doesn’t matter if you’re 17 or 70, everyone knows that driving after drinking a large amount of alcohol shows a blatant disregard for your own life and the lives of others on the road,” Detective Inspector Hofmeier said.
“ACT Policing has zero tolerance for drink-driving, as does the community. To do so with unrestrained passengers, and someone riding in the boot, that shows how little regard this driver had for his friends.”
“It is fortunate this incident didn’t have a worse outcome. I don’t want to think about the end result had this car crashed into another vehicle at high speed.”
The 17-year-old is scheduled to appear before the ACT Children’s Court on 8 September charged with level four drink-driving, speeding, not displaying P-Plates and two counts of driving with a passenger not in a seat with a seatbelt.
