A MAN has been given an infringement notice after police allege he allowed his 15-year-old nephew to drive in the early hours of the morning on Monday in Bathurst.
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Western Region Traffic Tactician Inspector Ben Macfarlane said the vehicle was stopped for a random breath test on George Street at 12.40am and the driver was unable to produce a licence.
"Checks revealed the man was a 15-year-old who has never held a driver's licence," he said.
"Further inquiries revealed his uncle, a 29-year-old Bathurst man who was travelling with him, permitted the 15-year-old to drive.
"Subsequently, the 29-year-old was issued with an infringement notice for 'employ unlicensed driver' and the 15-year-old man will be charged with 'never held licence - first offence' and dealt with under the Young Offenders Act."
IN OTHER NEWS AROUND BATHURST:
In a second incident in Bathurst in the early hours of Monday, police say they stopped a 27-year-old Bathurst man for a random mobile breath test at 12.55am and he returned a high range reading of 0.201 and was issued with a notice to attend court.
NSW Police's Operation Stay Alert started Friday and will finish on Monday night.
Despite "saturation policing" on the region's roads, Inspector Macfarlane said a number of drivers had been caught doing the wrong thing.
By the third day of the operation, police had issued 159 speeding fines in western NSW, including 19 in Chifley, and conducted 4134 random breath tests, including 550 in Chifley.
As well, 134 fines had been issued for a range of other infringements, with an additional 11 for restraint offences.
Among those caught during the RBTs was a 40-year-old Orange woman who was seven times over the legal drink-driving limit.
The woman was pulled over by officers at 9.25pm on Saturday while driving on Molong Road and returned a reading of 0.351 - more than seven times the legal drink-driving limit.
Police say she was subject to interlock device restrictions, but the vehicle was not fitted with the device.
Officers also pulled over a vehicle on Mort Street in Lithgow on Saturday at 11pm after it had been "attempting to evade police".
Inspector Macfarlane said a 20-year-old female learner driver was breath-tested and returned a reading of 0.120.
She was issued with infringements for being an unaccompanied learner, not having L-plates on her vehicle, driving with a suspended licence and a drink-driving offence.