KEY POINTS:
Breath and blood alcohol limits should be drastically cut, says NZ's top traffic policeman.
National road policing manager Superintendent Dave Cliff says the country's limits are out of step with those of other nations.
And, he says, a lower limit will help reduce the 30 per cent of
road deaths caused by drink drivers.
He believes lower breath and blood alcohol limits will save at least 14 lives a year.
Test results made public yesterday revealed repeat drink driver Gordon Armstrong was significantly over the limit when he killed himself and three motorcyclists near Rotorua on April 29.
"We're still seeing lives being needlessly lost because of repeat drink drivers," Mr Cliff said.
"I think New Zealand needs to lift its game another rung. We shouldn't be out of step with the rest of the world."
The Government has twice decided against lowering the limits since 2003, despite acknowledging driver performance starts to fall well below the present levels.
But Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven and representatives of the other main political parties said they supported more discussion on the issue.
Mr Cliff said New Zealand's limits of 400 micrograms per litre of breath and 80mg per 100ml of blood were "extraordinarily high".
"For the families of the 130 killed last year by drunk drivers, the price that we're paying, that all of us are paying, through the deaths and through the maimings each year, is an enormous price."
He proposes cutting levels to 250mcg per litre of breath and 50mg per 100ml of blood to bring New Zealand into line with Australia and "best-performing" European countries.
He would like "virtual zero alcohol" for youths under 20.
A Ministry of Transport report, commissioned in 2004, says the move would also prevent 260 injuries annually.
Cutting the youth limit would save one life and 26 injuries.
Land Transport and the Alcohol Advisory Council say there are too many variables to say exactly how much alcohol people can drink before they reach today's limit, but Mr Cliff said it took "a significant amount" and the risk of fatal crashes increased exponentially.
At the 400mcg breath limit, the risk was eight times that of a sober person. At 250mcg, the risk was only twice as high.
Mr Cliff said compelling evidence overseas, particularly in Australia, supported a reduction.
Australia has had a 14 per cent drop in alcohol-related crashes since the 1980s, when it lowered the blood-alcohol limit to 50mg - the upper limit recommended by the World Health Organisation.
Mr Cliff said the best-performing European countries had a 50mg limit or less.
The United States, which has the same limit as New Zealand, has a poor road-safety record.
In the Czech Republic, where drivers cannot drink at all, only 4.8 per cent of road deaths result from drink-driving.
Australian drivers caught with breath alcohol levels between 250mcg and 400mcg receive infringement notices or a short disqualification, and the same was envisaged for New Zealand, Mr Cliff said.
Senior Sergeant Ed Van Broek, officer in charge of the Armstrong case and head of the Rotorua traffic unit, said there was widespread support among police for lowering the limits because officers often stopped drivers who recorded breath alcohol below the limit but were too drunk to drive.
Among political parties, only the Greens voiced outright support for Mr Cliff's proposal, saying they would be happy with a blood limit lower than 50mg.
National and NZ First were open to further discussion, and the Maori Party wanted broader talks about alcohol abuse.
