Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, September 19, 2023
Waikato Police are appalled by the number of people caught drunk driving in Hamilton City over the last two weekends.
Police processed and charged 26 drunk drivers over the weekend of September 1 to September 3, 2023, and another 33 over the weekend of 8-10 September.
On this latter weekend, our Impairment Prevention Team breath-tested 5,273 drivers in the city.
Waikato Road Policing manager Inspector Jeff Penno was stunned and appalled by the results.
“That is one in every 160 cars on the road over the weekend who are affected by alcohol. This is not a police issue, this is a community issue. They were all drinking somewhere with someone who should have cared enough to stop their friend, partner or whānau from driving drunk.”
“These drunk drivers are driving towards you and your family. It is simply not good enough. This is a staggering number of drunk drivers in one weekend, and does not include those apprehended by the rural teams who operate in Waikato’s rural towns every weekend,” Inspector Penno said.
“These results show us that there is a real and significant issue and we will be increasing our enforcement in the drink drive area. We always increase enforcement to prevent and deter those from drunk driving over the Christmas period, this year Christmas is coming early to Waikato’s roads.”
The dangers of inebriation behind the wheels
In New Zealand, the alcohol limit for drivers aged 20 years and over is 250 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol per litre of breath and the blood alcohol limit is 50 milligrams (mg) per 100 millilitres (ml) of blood.
If you are under 20, the alcohol limit for drivers is zero. You must not drive if the amount of alcohol in your breath or blood exceeds these limits. If you have any alcohol in your breath or your blood and you have:
- less than 150 mcg breath alcohol / 30 mg blood alcohol, you can get a fine plus 50 demerit points.
- more than 50 mcg breath alcohol / 30 mg blood alcohol, you can be disqualified from driving, receive 50 demerit points and either fined or imprisoned.
If you are aged 20 or older, the legal limit is 250mcg breath alcohol / 50 mg blood alcohol. If you have:
- less than 400 mcg breath alcohol / 80mg blood alcohol, you can be fined and get 50 demerit points.
- more than 400 mcg / 80 mg, you can be disqualified from driving and either fined or imprisoned.
The penalties can be heavier if your drink-driving offence causes someone’s injury or death, or you have been convicted multiple times for drink driving.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has more information about drink-driving limits, testing drivers for alcohol and other details. Please click the link to know more.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
