A 33-year-old Belconnen man was caught drink driving with his five-year-old son in the back seat on Saturday night after colliding with a police vehicle.

About midnight, police were on patrol along Kingsford Smith Drive in Melba when they saw a car driving towards them on the wrong side of the road. Police said it was apparent that the driver of the other vehicle was not going to stop, so they took evasive action to avoid a head-on collision.

Police said both vehicles were travelling about 20km/h when they grazed each other’s front quarter panels. After the collision police found the driver’s five-year-old son on the back seat. Nobody was injured as a result of the collision.

A roadside screening test returned a positive result for the driver and when taken to Belconnen Police Station for further testing the driver recorded an alcohol content of 0.220, more than four times the 0.05 limit for a full licence holder.

In another drink-drive related incident, police were called to a single vehicle collision near the Palmerston shops on Sunday afternoon.

The driver involved in the collision left the scene however, with the assistance of members of the public, he was identified to police.

A roadside screening test returned a positive result for the driver and he was taken to the Gungahlin Police Station for a breath analysis. He was found to have an alcohol content of 0.290, which is more than five times the 0.05 limit.

Superintendent Kylie Flower said police were appalled at these recent results which could have resulted in a more serious outcome.

“We do not want this holiday period marred by a road fatality and these recent results could have easily ended that way. What is extremely disturbing is that one of the drivers made a choice to drink and drive with his five-year-old son in the vehicle,” she said.