Truckie charged with driving six times over legal limit

Laine Clark | December 14, 2023

A truck driver has been charged with driving with a blood alcohol content six times over the limit by Queensland Police.

Police said the 44-year-old man had been charged with high-range drink driving after an incident near theme park Dreamworld on the Gold Coast.

The man was allegedly seen driving the prime mover on the Gold Coast on Tuesday morning.

A short time later officers found the man lying on the side of the road near Dreamworld next to the truck with the engine running, police said.

Police released body cam footage of officers approaching a man lying on grass near a truck.

An empty vodka bottle is found nearby.

“I am under the reasonable suspicion that you under the influence of liquor or a drug, have you been drinking today?” the police officer asks.

“There’s an empty vodka bottle over there.”

The man refused to submit a roadside breath test and tried to get back into the vehicle, police said.

He was arrested and taken to the Southport watchhouse where he allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.311 in a breath test.

The man is due to appear at a Southport Magistrates Court on January 10.

His licence was immediately suspended.

Police have appealed for witnesses and dash cam footage.

Sergeant Neville Stretton said drink driving was a contributing factor in more than 20 per cent of road fatalities in Queensland.

“It’s disappointing that we are still seeing drivers get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol,” he said.

“Making that decision to drink drive can also have catastrophic consequences for other road users and their families.”