In the past few weeks, there has been tremendous chatter about the tough new drink-driving laws that came into effect this week.
It has been one of those things that everyone seems to be talking about. Most people have been trying to work out what this means for them andhow much they will now be able to drink before getting behind the wheel. Under the old system of 400mcg of alcohol per litre of breath many people had worked out what their limit was. Since the limit has now dropped to 250mcg of alcohol per litre of breath, it has thrown people out a bit.
Obviously no one wants to get caught out so many people I have spoken to are dropping their intake quite radically. Some have stopped drinking anything when they are driving.
All this is a good thing. That is what you want laws to be - a deterrent. Add the tough warning from police that they will take a hard line on drink-driving this holiday season and you have very good reasons not to drink and drive.
Unfortunately for one woman who was caught over the new limit but under the old limit, she did not learn that lesson. She became the first person in Hawke's Bay to be fined under the new legislation - not a very proud record to have.
The fact of the matter is that as a country we needed to do something to stop the death on our roads caused by drunk drivers. There are some people who believe that the limit for all drivers, not just the youngsters, should be zero.
I think that may have been taking things too far. You don't want to punish everyone, but you do want people to take it seriously.
