KEY POINTS:
Most of the country's worst drink-drivers are men - but police are alarmed that more women loaded with alcohol are getting behind the wheel.
A week ago a 27-year-old unemployed woman was caught driving with nearly five times the legal limit of alcohol in her system.
A concerned
motorist followed her for about 4km before managing to snatch her keys and get her off the road.
When police arrived they were astounded. The woman, who was allegedly on her way to see her AA adviser, was asleep, slumped over the wheel.
When she woke she struggled to talk and couldn't stand or sit upright on her own. She blew 1943mcg a litre of breath, a reading some police say should have killed her.
One Auckland traffic sergeant said he had not seen such a high reading in his 21 years as an officer. Some media said it was the highest breath-alcohol reading ever recorded.
But, as bad as the woman's reading was, it wasn't in the top 10.
According to Ministry of Transport statistics, the worst drink-driver was nearly six times over the limit.
The man, who was in his late 50s, blew 2352mcg in 2004. His record was followed by that of a Gisborne man who blew 2319mcg in 1998.
The third worst drink-driver was a woman relief teacher who was caught in Papamoa last year.
When the 39-year-old blew into the breath tester it peaked at 2000mcg and couldn't go any higher. A blood test revealed she had 426mg of alcohol a 100ml of blood (roughly the equivalent of 2200mcg a litre of breath.)
Only one other woman, who was from Tasman and in her teens, came in the top 10 readings. She was caught in 2005 with a reading of 1952mcg - the same as two other men.
The woman caught in Auckland last Friday blew just a fraction less, making her reading almost five times over the limit but not enough to make the top 10.
What is of note, though, is that the two women in the top 10 were also the most recent readings in the list - the men's records were all set before 2005.
Auckland road policing manager Heather Wells said she had noticed an increase in women being caught driving with very high levels of alcohol.
She said the trend was worrying as it was traditionally men who were the worst drink-drivers.
"We are apprehending a lot more women, just in the average ranges as well. A couple of years ago it used to be men. Women were the ones who were actually being sober drivers.
"Now we are finding a lot more women coming through. It's no longer the woman being the good person and keeping sober."
Ms Wells isn't sure why the women are drinking and driving but the message is the same as for men.
"Take the responsibility and think about others as well. A lot of women out there have got children and ... it's a really bad example."
