The Press TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1974. Drinking and driving

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33665, 15 October 1974, Page 18

The Press TUESDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1974. Drinking and driving

The Ministry of Transport has embarked on its most ambitious campaign to change the attitude of the community towards excessive drinking by drivers. A tolerant attitude towards drivers under the influence of liquor is, unfortunately, too often well entrenched among those who are prone to offend. Such an attitude also prevails among their companions, whose criticism might otherwise be expected to deter them from dangerous driving. Education may help to create a more responsible attitude among drivers; the firm punishment of offenders and a greater likelihood of detection remain the community’s best defences against those who drive cars and motor-cycles when they should not do so. Driving while under the effects of an excess of alcohol was described recently by a Christchurch Magistrate, Mr H. J. Evans, as a “ grave social evil He said that sentences for those convicted of the offence would contain an element of deterrence and an element of firm persuasion to bring home to offenders, without undue hardship, the “ reality of their anti-social conduct ”. While the courts have, quite correctly, retained flexibility in sentencing, a pattern can be detected in the decisions by the Christchurch Magistrates. Disqualifications from driving have varied from periods of six months (which is the mandatory minimum for all offenders) for those whose tests show that they have more than 100 milligrams, but less than 150 milligrams, of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, to periods of 18 months for those in excess of 200 milligrams. Fines of up to $3OO and terms of periodic detention of up to three months have been imposed. These are stiff penalties, but they are still well short of the maximum set by the law. Even the maximum penalties would be mild in their effect compared with the suffering of many victims of road accidents in which excessive drinking has played a part.

The Transport Amendment Bill at present before Parliament will increase the maximum penalties for drivers who cause death or injury while under the influence of liquor; but it will not increase the penalties l for those who otherwise exceed the permitted blood-alcohol level. Other provisions in the legislation will increase the likelihood of detection of offenders. Police and traffic officers will be given power to test the blood-alcohol level of any driver they suspect of having been drinking. This change in the law will permit something approaching a random testing of drivers in the vicinity of hotels and parties. Whether the amendment will be accepted without bad feeling and legal wrangling may depend, in part, on the success of the Ministry’s •programme of public education. Completely random testing might have been more acceptable, for it is less obviously directed at a particular group in the community. But the new law will deserve a fair trial.