Election weekend police operation catches bus driver four times over alcohol limit

A bus driver four times the legal alcohol limit has been suspended after hitting a parked vehicle then continuing his route over the election weekend.

The accident happened in Wellington's northern suburbs on Sunday afternoon.

"The driver was subsequently located in central Wellington and underwent an evidential breath test," police said on Monday.

He failed, and was immediately suspended. He will appear in Porirua District Court on Tuesday, charged with transport service driver breath alcohol level over 400mcg per litre, careless driving and failing to stop or ascertain injury.

The catch was part of an "upscaled" effort by police over election weekend, with more than 3000 passive breath tests and 90 oral fluid screening tests conducted.

"We work hard to ensure that our roads are safe and to prevent deaths and serious injuries from happening on our roads," Senior Sergeant Pete Dear said.

More than 900 breath tests were carried out on Friday evening, with six failing - one more than three times above the limit and another on a licence with zero tolerance. Others tested positive for meth, MDMA and cannabis - one had all three in their system.

A person allegedly driving a car with a child in it crashed into a parked car on Sunday while under the influence of GBL, police added. Five more people were found driving over the alcohol limit on Sunday in Paraparaumu, out of 1414 tested.

"The consequences of crashes caused by alcohol or drugs are devastating, and that's something we see as police too often," Dear said.

"While we're out on the roads, we aren't solely focused on alcohol and drugs - we also look out for any distracted driving, seatbelts, speed, and other dangerous driving behaviours."