Drink driving arrests in Tamworth CBD during New Year's period as police operation detects offences on Oxley, New England roads

Police allege a 20-year-old woman was a suspended P-plater when she gave a positive breath test and was arrested on Bridge Street just after midnight on New Year's Day.

Provisional drivers must have no alcohol in their blood, but the woman is accused of blowing a reading of 0.124 at Tamworth Police Station, more than twice the legal limit for a fully licenced driver.

Officers noticed later that morning the Honda sedan she had been driving had been moved, and claim a review of CCTV revealed she had gone back to get the car just before 2am.

She then had further charges levelled against her.

A couple of days earlier on the morning of December 30, highway patrol officers were parked on Bridge Street doing random breath testing.

Police claim a Toyota Landcruiser stopped in the middle of the road about 7.40am and the 58-year-old driver became argumentative.

Officers allege the man gave a roadside reading of more than four times the legal limit.

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He was arrested before being to taken to hospital for a medical complaint, where a blood sample was taken, but he allegedly became hostile and had to be restrained.

Police said charges were expected to be laid.

The arrests came in the final days of a police operation targeting road rule breakers in the festive season, which ended at midnight last night.

Between its launch on December 23 and midnight on January 1, Peel highway patrol police across the Oxley and New England districts interacted with more than 10,100 drivers.

"We've had some really serious offending occur over the operational period which is really disappointing," Peel Highway Patrol manager Inspector Kelly Wixx told the Leader.

"People are still pushing the boundaries when it comes to road safety and the decisions that they're making behind the wheel."

Police caught 22 people not wearing a seatbelt, four on phones, 345 speeding, 25 drink drivers, 37 drug drivers, and 385 other offences were detected.

"It's the simple things people are forgetting but it's those simple things that, if you're involved in an accident, can lead to serious injury or death," Inspector Wixx said.

"A lot of these incidents are just selfish."

An alleged high-range drink driver was detected in Armidale about 10am on New Year's Eve, with a 26-year-old man accused of blowing a blood alcohol reading of 0.204.

There were also multiple pursuits during the operation.

No more road deaths were recorded in 2022. Tragically 20 people lost their lives on the region's roads last year.

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