Gold Coast drink driver caught seven times the legal limit on M1

A Gold Coast man was caught seven times the legal limit on one of the city’s busiest roads during an alarming drink driving crackdown by police.

A Gold Coast man has blown more than seven times the legal limit during a major drink driving crackdown in Tweed across the weekend.

The Arundel man, 37, recorded 0.362 after being pulled over for a random breath test near the Tweed Heads exit around 9.30pm on Saturday.

The man has since been banned from driving in NSW and will appear in Tweed Heads Local Court on March 25.

Alarmingly the same police operation nabbed nearly 80 drink drivers in mere hours on just one stretch of road south of the Queensland border.

Seventy-eight drivers were found under the influence on the M1 between Tweed Heads and Ballina in just two nights.

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NSW police set up 17 random breath test stops at exits in the southbound lanes of the highway on Friday and Saturday night, conducting more than 8000 breath tests.

Disturbingly Far North Region Traffic Tactician Inspector Peter McMenamin said a number of people tested were very close to going over.

“We also spoke to a considerable number of drivers who were perilously close to being over the limit themselves,” he said.

“If you are going have a few drinks before dinner, strongly consider having a sober driver around for the rest of the night.”

Police also handed out another 338 traffic infringement notices for other matters.