New drinking and driving laws make quiet debut

Press, 4 December 1978, Page 1

New drinking and driving laws make quiet debut

Sterner drink-drive laws came into force quietly in Christchurch on Saturday. The number of breath tests taken from motorists was “about average,” said a Ministry of Transport spokesman last evening.

Six breath tests were taken in Christchurch on Friday night, and 11 on Saturday night.

Under the new legislation, the previous blood-alcohol limit of 100 ml of alcohol per lOOmg of blood has been lowered to 80mg of alcohol.

The American-made “alco-sensors” to be used under the new system have not yet'arrived in New Zealand, but there were “no problems and no complaints from customers” to Christchurch officers who used the old breath-test “bags” at the week-end, the spokesman said. The legislation which took effect on Saturday greatly widens the ground under which a motorist

can be asked to take a breath test. If a traffic officer does not know who was driving a car involved in an accident, he can now request a breath test from all the occupants of the car. A breath test can also be requested if a traffic officer suspects that a person “has recently committed an offence

against this part of the Transport Act,” which involves a motor vehicle. The new legislation gives an officer the right to ask for a breath test if he suspects that a driver has “recently, before driving the vehicle, or while driving the vehicle, consumed drink.” The same goes for a person who has attempted to drive a vehicle.