Drunks on road 'getting younger'

Karl Braun attended 3000 accidents, 40 of them fatal, during his 35 year traffic police career. Photo / Simon Baker

Drunk drivers are getting younger and more of them are women, a retired policeman says.

Karl Braun, of Kaiapoi, recently retired after 35 years in the traffic police based in Christchurch City.

And he has seen some true horrors.

During those three decades, he attended about 3000 accidents and at least 40 fatal accidents.

"Many of these accidents involved drivers who were affected by alcohol," he says.

"I still remember where all the accidents or crashes have occurred, and of course the white crosses on the roadside don't make this any easier."

There had been various trends over the years, he said, both negative and positive.

"Things over the years - when I started - haven't changed all that much. But lately drivers affected by alcohol are getting younger and many young woman have also been involved and now drink more.

"In saying that, attitudes have changed in the last decades. People are more aware - and aware of being apprehended by police ... because it's easier to get caught."

Mr Braun has lived mostly in rural areas and has personally been affected by many of the accidents he was called out to.

"It had been my job, most of the time, to break the news to loved ones.

"This can be most stressful and in fact [the] most difficult job a police officer has to do - especially if you know the families involved.

"In 1976 I lived in a small community and therefore knew a lot of the victims involved in accidents and fatal accidents."

Putting the driving age up is not really the solution, he says, as many young drivers in rural parts of the country are very responsible drivers and it is essential that they have that skill early on.

Instead, limiting the number of liquor outlets available is a far better way to decrease the risk of drunk people getting behind the wheel and to ultimately bring down the number of people dying on our roads.

"My personal views on liquor outlets are that there are too many of them - especially where the poorer people are. They are targeted.

"Young people can be more careless than the elder drivers, but the highest alcohol readings still have been [from] the more mature bad drink-driver."

The 63-year-old now works as a community work supervisor for the Corrections Department and is based in Rangiora, in the South Island.

Despite the fact that he is retired from road policing, he says he still sees the "same customers".

"It's almost impossible to stop the real bad drink-driver," he said.

"The New Zealand culture, rugby, racing and beer, and the power of the liquor licensing authority. It's almost impossible to break the drink-driving habit."

Education and more involved programmes with police and schools are needed also, Mr Braun said, to inform young minds that drink-driving is one experience they do not want to know about.

DOWN ONLY DIRECTION FOR BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL

Karl Braun's views on New Zealand's blood-alcohol limit are very straightforward - it needs to come down.

"It's far too high. They're always doing something about smoking and yet they can't address this.

"I think we need to lower the limit from 80mg [of alcohol per 100ml of blood] to 50mg - if not lower."

For younger drivers, he believes that limit should be almost nil.

Even 50mg was high, Mr Braun said, and that should be the starting point.

"If we need to lower it again, then lower it. A lot of people want to and trust me, police do too."