DRINK-DRIVING detections in the Barossa have hit worrying levels in the past three months, according to the officer in charge of Nuriootpa police.

Since the start of July, police have detected 11 drivers across the Barossa with blood-alcohol levels above 0.92 while behind the wheel, with nine blowing more than 0.115.

The worst offenders were two Nuriootpa men, aged 66 and 57, who each blew 0.168 – more than three times the legal limit – while travelling on Research Road and Barossa Valley Way in  Nuriootpa, respectively, in late August.

The men were caught within three days of each other.

Another incident where a Nuriootpa woman was caught driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.151 along Reusch Drive, in Nuriootpa, made it three instances of drivers blowing three-times over the legal limit in four weeks within the township.

Nuriootpa Police Station officer in charge, senior sergeant first class Sven Kahl said he was “disappointed” in the number of drink drivers in the mid-to-high range being detected in the area.

“In the Barossa Local Service Area five people have been killed so far on our roads during 2019, this is two more than at the same time last year,” he said.

“Road crashes impact significantly on victims, friends, family, the community and attending emergency services.

“As a road user, do not think you’re either ‘invisible’ or ‘invincible’, whether that’s on main roads or back roads.

“Every drink/drug driver places their own life and the life of all other road users at risk.

“Road safety is a shared responsibility and road crashes are avoidable, that includes drink and drug driving.”

The state’s road death toll currently sits at 82, compared to 55 at the same time last year.

In total, 80 people died on the state’s roads in 2018.

In response to the high road toll, police state-wide have been running their ‘Fatal Five’ campaign, focusing on the most common factors in road accidents: drink and drug driving, speeding,  distraction, seatbelts, and dangerous road users.

Senior sergeant Kahl said there were easy ways to avoid drink driving and to ensure you, and everyone else on the road, gets home safe.

“If you choose to drink and/or take drugs then find a way to avoid driving, such as having a designated driver, calling for a taxi, calling for a family member or friend to collect you, staying at nearby accommodation or walking home if it is safe to do so,” he said.

“Making good decisions on how you are getting home safely may save your life or someone else’s.”