Portland woman records blood alcohol reading almost five times over limit

Portland police Sergeant Tom Dempsey said the woman's behaviour was beyond comprehension and at a reading like hers "you can barely control the vehicle".

The Portland woman, 36, had been drinking at a residential address before police pulled her over in Percy Street at 7.54pm as part of a routine intercept.

He said a minority of people still weren't heeding the drink-driving message.

"It's one of the five factors that lead to serious injury and fatal collisions," Sergeant Dempsey said.

"Especially at a reading like that you can barely control the vehicle.

"It's highly, highly irresponsible."

He said after an initial positive roadside breath test, the woman accompanied officers to the station for an evidentiary breath test, returning a blood alcohol reading of .241.

"With a reading like that she's lucky to be alive and not having a collision of some description," he said.

"I can't begin to comprehend it. If you're drinking, don't drive. It's pretty simple."

The woman was the single occupant of the Hyundai sedan which was impounded for 30 days.

She received an immediate driving ban for 12 months and will appear in court at a later date.

Her result comes after magistrate and long-time defence lawyer Nunzio La Rosa said blood alcohol readings were much higher than a decade ago.

Magistrate La Rosa made the comments in July when sentencing a Warrnambool motorist who blew .291 - more than five times the legal limit after a three-car crash.

At the time it followed a series of high blood alcohol readings across the region in the previous eight months.

Just days before the 34-year-old caused last year's three-car pile up, a 32-year-old Laang man intercepted in Yambuk blew .319 - more than six times the legal limit.

At the time of the offending, Port Fairy police Sergeant Dave Walkley told The Standard it was the highest he'd ever seen.

Then in March, a 51-year-old Cobden man blew .192. It was his third extreme reading in 12 months after blowing .283 in June last year and .237 in December.

In June a 57-year-old woman blew more than three times the limit in the Hamilton central business district while a 25-year-old disqualified driver was jailed for one month after he was found drunk and asleep behind the wheel after blowing a tyre doing multiple burnouts in Heywood.

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