Checks ‘not blitz excuse’

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34126, 12 April 1976, Page 1

Checks ‘not blitz excuse’

(From Our Own Reportery NELSON, April 11. Senior Patrol Officer A. Dando firmly denied today that the Ministry ‘of Transport’s prewinter spot checks of] 'vehicles, which con-] Tinned into the small hours of this morning,' were merely camouflage for a blitz on drinking drivers. Mr Dando admitted, however, that his officers had

known of such a rumour, had done nothing to discourage it, and during checking last evening had even perpetuated it. Two separate reports this ■ morning indicated that about six traffic officers were stopping traffic at 2 a.m. on i Tahunanui Drive for a pre- ] winter vehicle check. On one : side of the road a long line of empty cars was parked, land motorists reported hearI ing traffic officers referring to these as “the cars of drivers who have been given , the bag.” ] Asked today if the denartment was using the vehicle checks as a pretext to give

| drivers random breath-tests | Mr Dando said this was no so. The line of cars referrec to had nothing whatsoevei to do with the department’: i vehicle check. They were cer |tainly not the cars of motor ists who had been given < breath-test. I “This was a bit of a joke (begun by a member of tht (public, and one which w« carried on as we were check ing,” said Mr Dando. “W< joked that these were al defective cars that we hac I found.’’ The rumour had apparent!} spread rapidly, he said because taxi drivers hat reported extraordinarily .heavy business after mid

,'night. “We had earlier heard j : the rumour that there was a 1 1 drinking driver blitz on, and ; ■lour blokes did nothing to • sjdeny it. As a result, we have ■ 'picked up fewer this week * • than normally,” said Mr' i Dando. i No driver given a breath' J test last evening had been s s stopped for the vehicle check, c : he said. During the week the t • vehicle checks had continued I sI until about 10 p.m., or until i the density of traffic dimin- f I ished. ‘ Last night’s check had is ’ been continued until 3 a.m. s , because of the volume of traf- i I: fic on the road, and not as ’ a means of giving random 1 ■ breath-tests to drivers. I<