A woman allegedly driving at more than 160km/h on a back road in the early hours of the morning, while more than twice the legal alcohol limit, was among 18 drivers caught speeding by Tatura police in May.

Tatura police Sergeant Ian Fulton said a police in-car radar allegedly detected a woman driving at 161km/h on Byrneside-Kyabram Rd at Merrigum at 1.10am on May 21.

When police stopped the driver and breath-tested her, she allegedly returned a blood alcohol concentration reading of 0.124.

Her car was impounded for 30 days.

A Merrigum woman in her 40s has been charged with speeding, drink-driving and possessing a drug of dependence.

She has been bailed to appear in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court at a later date.

Sgt Fulton said it was “hard to measure” the number of people who had been saved on the roads through enforcement by police, but that “I think if the police members weren’t there on that night to intercept her, at those speeds, with that amount of alcohol in her system, that could have easily been a fatality”.

In another instance during May, Tatura police charged a man after a member of the public called 000 after spotting him allegedly driving erratically in Echuca Rd, Mooroopna on May 5.

Sgt Fulton said the driver was allegedly swerving in and out of his lane and was driving slowly and speeding up.

The member of the public was able to follow the driver as he made his way to Shepparton and give directions as to where he was.

When police pulled over the man in Rea St in Shepparton and breathalysed him, he allegedly recorded a blood alcohol concentration of 0.183 — more than three times the legal limit.

The man was also disqualified from driving, and he allegedly gave police a fake name.

Sgt Fulton thanked the member of the public who called police about the man’s driving.

“Police members are actively patrolling for these high-risk driving offenders and one phone call can make the difference between the driver causing a collision or being intercepted,” he said.

Sgt Fulton alleged the driver was extremely alcohol-affected and unsteady on his feet.

His vehicle was impounded for 30 days at a cost of $1200.

“This behaviour is extremely selfish to go out and drink that much, then to get in your vehicle and drive home, putting other road users at risk is extremely disheartening,” he said.

“To then find out the driver’s licence was already disqualified for the same offending, it was a no-brainer to impound his vehicle and not give him that opportunity again.”

A 25-year-old Shepparton man will be charged on summons with drink-driving, driving while disqualified, and stating a false name to police.

He will appear in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court on the charges.

Sgt Fulton said police had charged 18 drivers with speeding in a month.

He was alarmed by the dangerous driving behaviours detected during recent enforcement activities.

He said the decisions being made by some drivers demonstrated a blatant disregard for road safety and the lives of other road users.

Sgt Fulton said since taking up his position at Tatura, he had been trying to promote a “catch culture” among his officers, instead of people being reported to police for doing the wrong thing.

“Police will continue to be out on patrol, promoting a proactive catch culture throughout Tatura and surrounds, detecting offences,” he said.

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