Melbourne Uber driver’s shocking blood-alcohol reading

An Uber driver has recorded a shocking blood-alcohol reading after being pulled over by police with a passenger in the car.

A Melbourne Uber driver has been caught driving while more than four times over the alcohol limit, with a passenger in his car.

The Craigieburn man, 50, was driving erratically and crossing an undivided centre road line at around 4am on Sunday in Melbourne’s outer north.

The driver was taken to a police station where he returned an breath test of 0.217.

He had his licence suspended immediately and his vehicle impounded for 30 days at a cost of $895.

It is expected he will be charged on summons to appear in court at a later date.

The driver has lost access to the app permanently, with the passenger receiving support from the company.

A spokeswoman for Uber said the company had zero tolerance for alcohol or drug-affected driving.

“We have a zero tolerance approach to alcohol or drugs on the app, which all driver-partners agree to when they sign up to use the Uber app,” she said.

“The safety of all users and members of the community is something we take extremely seriously and evidence of alcohol use will result in a driver-partner losing access to the app permanently.”

Police will be targeting impaired driving, speed, distraction and fatigue in high-risk areas throughout metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria over the holiday period.