Drunken Driving Penalties Impress Oxford Jurist

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28987, 31 August 1959, Page 13

Drunken Driving Penalties Impress Oxford Jurist

New Zealand’s laws on drunken driving, with mandatory penalties of licence suspension, are described as “excellent,” by Professor A. L. Goodhart, a professor emeritus of Oxford University and master of University College. He is also a leading legal authority in England, being chairman of the International Law Association. The penalties for drunken driving in England were much less strict, Professor Goodhart said yesterday. He said he felt strongly about combining drink with driving. “I’m not a prohibitionist. . 1 just don’t think a person is entitled to risk the lives of other people by driving when he is not fully capable of being responsible for others,” he said. Professor Goodhart is visiting Christchurch as the guest of Mr Justice Adams, having just attended the Australian Law Conference and travelled on to New Zealand to see something of the country’s universities. Professor Goodhart, who is president of the Pedestrians’ Association for Road Safety- in England, said that he noticed New Zealanders seemed to recognise and obey traffic laws more than they did in almost any other country he has visited The road accident rate here was lower than in England or Australia and this seemed because citizens approved of the laws and did their best to obey them. It was much easier to enforce the law’s when they had the backing of the people and the newspapers. “That is very

important,” Professor Goodhart said. Asked to comment on the same point as applied to New Zealand’s licensing laws, Professor Goodhart said he preferred not to express an opinion. “It .is so much a matter oi domestic practice,” he said. “After all, if you tried to apply the English licensing laws in France there would be an absolute riot—another revolution. People have different habits in these things.” ’Coming to New Zealand through Japan, Singapore, and other Eastern countries, Professor Goodhart found those countries were placing tremendous importance on the opinions and actions of Australia and New Zealand. Increasingly, the Far Eastern countries were taking their view of Western opinions and ideas from over here. New Zealand and Australia were now almost “right in the centre” of international affairs. “What you think here is ol particular importance to Far Eastern countries,” Professor Goodhart said. Professor Goodhart will leave for Auckland tomorrow to fly back to the United Kingdom.