It took less than 24 hours for Hawke's Bay's first offender to be caught under the new drink-driving laws, sparking a warning from police there will be a strong focus on drunk-drivers this Summer.
Hawke's Bay Road Policing Senior Sergeant Greg Brown said a woman was found to be over the breath alcohol limit on Monday, which was the day the limit was lowered from 400mcg to 250mcg of alcohol per litre of breath.
The local woman, in her 30s, had pulled over abruptly on Hawke's Bay expressway during an argument with her passenger on Monday night, when police established she had been drinking.
A breath alcohol test revealed a level of 400mcg of alcohol per litre of breath exactly, which resulted in the first infringement for the region being issued.
The woman's breath alcohol level would not have constituted an offence last week.