Change Wanted In Alcohol Tests

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30840, 27 August 1965, Page 12

Change Wanted In Alcohol Tests

The Government should be urged to introduce an acceptable method of testing drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, said a recommendation by the North Canterbury Methodist Synod yesterday.

The recommendation was included in the report of the temperance committee, which was presented by the Rev. J. K. Watson. Reviewing the toll of deaths and accidents in New Zealand, the report said: “While various factors contribute to this grim picture, the overwhelming evidence is that the consumption of alcoholic liquor is one of the main causes.

“The driving of modern motor-vehicles at all times demands the highest standards of mental alertness and an ability to react quickly to any situation,” the committee continued. “Anything that impairs these qualities should be viewed as a serious violation of social and moral responsibility.” Transport authorities, doctors, and sections of the press had been urging the introduction of blood tests. “Present methods of assessing fitness for driving leave much to be desired, tests for the co-ordination of movement, clarity of speech, etc., having frequently produced conflicting views from medical men.”

The committee did not wish to say what method of testing should be adopted. “In our view, so long as the objective of accurately detecting the drinking driver is ob-

tained, we do not think the method is important.” The synod adopted the committee’s recommendations for presentation at the Methodist Conference in Christchurch iln November.