Browse > Home / News / Police warn New Year revellers

Police warn New Year revellers

Posted on December 31, 2008, 7:07am

South East police have warned revellers tonight to obey the law or face the consequences as thousands of people flock to licensed venues in Mount Gambier and traditional party spots along the coast.

With Mount Gambier having no planned New Year celebrations, hundreds of people are expected to swarm to Robe and Beachport to herald the start of 2009.

Over the 24-hour New Year period, more than 100 police will be on duty across the South East.

They will be targeting drink drivers and trying to stamp out disorderly behaviour, property damage and assaults.

Police are tonight bracing themselves for their busiest night of the year as the number of people reported for disorderly behaviour and drink driving is expected to spike.

“No police officer in the South East will be on leave,” Senior Sergeant Steve Hill warned yesterday.

He also called on people to be responsible with alcohol and keep away from drugs.

“If you get offered drugs, say no,” Snr Sgt Hill said.

His call followed a rise in disorderly behaviour in the week before Christmas, which included offences such as fighting, urinating in the street, assaults and interfering with police officers.

“A lot of young people are mixing alcohol with drugs and they then can’t control their behaviour,” Snr Sgt Hill said.

“If they break the law, they will be arrested and they will face the consequences in court.”

He said random breath testing units would be out across the region and he urged people not to drink and drive.

“We want everybody to be safe this New Year’s Eve, we don’t want any tragedies,” Snr Sgt Hill said.

He also warned people to ensure they were under the limit before getting behind the wheel, claiming it could take hours for some people the next day to become sober enough to drive.

“We don’t want any more serious road crashes,” said Snr Sgt Hill, adding the South East had recorded 62 serious injury crashes up until yesterday morning.

“We have had six road fatalities in 2008 and we don’t want any more. We need to keep the road toll down,” he said.

Snr Sgt Hill said the road toll up until yesterday morning was five fewer compared with the same time last year.

Meanwhile, the RAA has also warned revellers not to drink and drive, or to consume too much alcohol.

“Last year in South Australia, 27 pedestrians who were either killed or injured had a blood alcohol concentration higher than .06,” RAA traffic and safety manager Rita Excell said.

“When licensed premises are located on busy roads, revellers often spill on to the street, which creates a potentially dangerous situation.”

She also reminded hosts of New Year’s Eve celebrations not to refill a guest’s glass until they have finished and also to provide food and other drinks as an alternative to alcohol.

“The simplest advice is that if you plan on partying your way into 2009, leave your car at home,” Ms Excell said.

Tags: ,  

Comments

Comments are closed.