Breath-test legislation criticised

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33673, 24 October 1974, Page 19

Breath-test legislation criticised

(.New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON. Legislation which gives traffic officers greater powers to catch drinking drivers was criticised in Parliament by a former National Party Cabinet Minister, Mr D. J. Carter (Raglan).

He was speaking during! debate on the Transport Amendment Bill. ,1

;| Under the existing law an : officer cannot give a breath ,I test unless he suspects a

motorist of breaking a traffic law. The bill provides for a test to be made merely if the officer suspects a motorist has been drinking. Mr Carter said the new law fell short of random testing, but was a halfway house between that and the existing law. His fear was that breath testing, which had been accepted so far by the people, would be brought into disre-

pute if too many innocent people were made to undergo breath tests. The tests had no future unless the public co-operated, he said. If the public felt there were elements of persecution in the application of breath tests, the tempo of cooperation would change to resistance and flouting of the law. However, the Senior Oppo-

sition Whip, Mr J. R. Harrison (Hawke’s Bay) disagreed with Mr Carter. He said he was inclined to accept the 1 change, and believed that a corps of traffic officers and . police had developed who 1 would apply the law “with ! discretion.” Mr Harrison called for a 1 simplification of the Transport Act so that the layman i could understand it. i