NZ First MP wants drink-driving limits lifted again

NZ First MP Darroch Ball. Photo / Mark Mitchell

New Zealand First is calling for drink-driving limits to be lifted again, saying the reduction in 2014 did little to reduce road accidents related to drunk driving.

NZ First MP Darroch Ball has put in a members' bill to repeal the 2014 law change that lowered drink-driving limits in a bid by the former National Government to cut alcohol-related accidents and deaths.

Ball said the stricter limits had failed to lower drink-driving rates or the number of deaths on the roads and targeted the wrong people.

"The vast majority of drivers in fatal drink-driving accidents have been in the range of twice the legal limit. These are the recidivist, high-level drink drivers we need to be targeting – not hard-working Kiwis who have a beer or wine after work."

He said it had also impacted on rural pubs.

"Since the alcohol breath and blood levels were made more restrictive, the number of drink driving accidents has actually increased," he said.

"There has been a 36 per cent increase in charges, 40 per cent increase in convictions, and up to 50 per cent increase in fatalities involving drink-drivers."

National Party transport spokesman Jami-Lee Ross said National would not support such a move.

He said even at the current limit, someone was twice as likely to have a crash than somebody who had not had a drink.

"Of course, going to complete abolition would be going too far so we struck a reasonable balance between having safer streets but also allowing New Zealanders to go about normal daily life."

He also disputed the figures Ball had used on charges and convictions for drink driving offences, saying the figures showed there were 19,000 convictions in 2014 and that dropped to 15,750 in 2016. He said in 2009 30,000 people had been convicted.

Police statistics show there were 20,970 driving related alcohol offences such as drink driving in 2014 which increased to 25,508 in 2017. The road toll in 2014 was 293 – 6.5 per 100,000 people. That went to 327 in 2016, seven for every 100,000 people.

Ball's bill will not go up before Parliament unless it is drawn from the ballot for member's bills.

The Land Transport (Repeal of Lower Specified Alcohol Limits) Amendment Bill will reinstate a legal breath alcohol limit of 400mcg per litre of breath, and blood alcohol limit of 80mg per 100ml of blood.

At the moment, the breath alcohol limit is 250mcg per litre and blood alcohol limit is 50mg per 100ml.

It was lowered in 2014 after years of calls from Police for a lower limit to bring New Zealand in line with many countries overseas.

A poll at the time showed it had 65 per cent support.

Then Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee had said it would save 3.4 lives a year and prevent 64 injuries, leading to savings of around $200 million over 10 years.

He said the change would also save a "huge amount of misery" for families who were affected by alcohol-related road accidents.

Labour had wanted a tougher policy, including making it a criminal offence to drive after drinking more than the lower limit.