Not only is there traffic heading between Melbourne and Sydney on the freeway, but you’ve also got a host of attractions in the area that bring people in.

Rutherglen’s Winery Walkabout attracts tens of thousands of people, meaning many usually quiet roads are busy in a way not seen at any other time of the year.

And then there is the official opening of the snow season.

Most years the white stuff doesn’t really appear until a bit later.

But this year there was enough around to make it a true winter wonderland, thanks in part – some experts say – to the La Nina weather pattern.

That means even more people on the Border region’s roads. The weekend is certainly a highlight of the calendar, made even better by Sunday’s glorious sunshine.

It beggars belief then that some motorists would so blatantly ignore their own safety and that of others by going out onto the roads after having a few drinks or more. And then there are those who takes drugs.

But the drink-drive message has been around for so long that there is simply no excuse for people to break the law.

And the police have taken no chances by again reminding the community during the lead-up to the weekend of their responsibilities.

Nevertheless, for some the message simply didn’t get through.

The most staggering example occurred in Wodonga on Friday night.

That was when police pulled over a car being driven by a 32-year-old man with no consideration for others.

Firstly, he provided a blood alcohol reading of 0.148, or a whisker under three times the legal limit.

Put simply, the man was drunk, then thought with his few remaining functioning brain cells that it was a good idea to get behind the wheel of his car.

But what was truly horrifying was the fact he had an 18-month-old in the car, and the youngster was not restrained.

It was quite rightly described by Wodonga’s Sergeant Cameron Roberts as a case of “fairly serious” risk.

The level of stupidity involved is staggering. We can just be grateful that something truly horrific did not result.

It drives home just why all motorists need to take the utmost care on our roads.