The number of Rotorua drink-driving convictions is falling, despite a hardcore of repeat offenders, new figures show.
Ministry of Justice figures released under the Official Information Act show more than 570 people recorded drink-drive convictions in Rotorua in the year to June - down from 730, two years earlier. More than a third recorded their third or subsequent conviction last year.
Rotorua road policing manager Acting Inspector Brendon Keenan said police visibility and lower levels of social tolerance had helped bring conviction numbers down. "... it's no longer acceptable".
Young people especially were making a difference with their peers and colleagues, he said.
However, repeat offenders didn't respond in the same way.
"[Recidivist drink-drivers] are not worried about the education they see, they're not worried about peer pressure ... and obviously they take their chances around enforcement."
A new, one-day alcohol education programme, run through the Department of Corrections since December, showed offenders the effects of their actions on other people, Mr Keenan said.
Participants were shown case-studies of families torn apart by drink-drivers, taking them from emergency services, to morgues and funeral directors.
In May last year, Ramon Lee Hussey, 43, hit two girls in Ohope with his car. He had a breath-alcohol level of 754mcg.
In November, James Merito, 33, was sentenced in Rotorua District Court to 18 months' prison after pleading guilty to drink-driving for the 12th time.
Nationally, the number of drink-driving convictions fell significantly over the last three years from 27,518 to 23,377.
However, recidivist drink-driver numbers remained reasonably consistent.
Rotorua massage therapist Janine Mathie, who drove into two cars and two pedestrians near a busy morning market at Kuirau Park in Rotorua, was sentenced last year to home detention after recording a reading of 1881mcg per litre of breath, more than four times the legal limit of 400. She was also convicted in 2010 with a reading of 1603mcg per litre of breath.
Automobile Association (AA) motoring affairs general manager Mike Noon said the national drop was largely thanks to the zero tolerance alcohol policy for drivers under the age of 20. Even so, New Zealand still had a long way to go, he said. "We are making improvements but we're still not there, and the real problem that we see is ... the percentage of drivers that we've caught before is going up."
The "catch and release" approach of punishing repeat offenders and ignoring the root cause wasn't working, he said.
AA wanted to see more rehabilitation programmes for recidivist drink drivers, and more interlock devices to prevent them getting behind the wheel unless completely sober.
"[One] guy has 18 drink-driving convictions and there's no interlock on his car."
Late last year, the Government revealed plans to reduce the legal blood alcohol limit from 80 to 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood for drivers aged 20 and over. The lower threshold means the average male will be over the limit after four to six 330ml beers drunk over two hours - instead of six to nine under the present limit.
The average female would be over the limit after three to five beers, instead of four to six beers currently.