Proserpine and Whitsunday police routinely target drinking drivers in the area. As virtually all traffic has to travel on either Shute Harbour Road to Airlie Beach, or the Bruce Highway, the chances of diverting past the booze buses is very low, even for locals. Police use both sides of the highway to stop Bruce Highway traffic travelling both north and south. On a recent weekend, 900 people were breath tested for exceeding alcohol limits. Despite not finding many drunk drivers, police charged around 65 people for other offences, like speeding and not wearing seat belts.

Police also breath tested boat drivers returning to Abel Point Marina.

According to the Whitsunday Coast Guardian, of the 893 charges heard in Proserpine Magistrates Court in 2007/08, 245 involved drunk driving, and 67 driving without a license. 147 were public nuisance, which mostly involve drunken yobbos. 80 charges were drug related. This is not an enviable record for the Whitsunday district.

Then within a few weeks, a record 13 drunk drivers were caught in the Whitsundays in a single week in late August, most of them living in the area.