Blitz results higher in country areas

Press, 12 January 1987, Page 1

Blitz results higher in country areas

Country areas have proportionately more drinking drivers than metropolitan Christchurch, judging by the results of the Ministry of Transport’s week-end checkpoints. A team went north on Saturday evening, and set up checkpoints in Cass Street, Kaiapoi, and in High Street, Rangiora. A Ministry spokesman said that 299 drivers were stopped, and 27 were given breath-screening tests. Eleven of those were asked to have evidential breath tests, and three had blood tests taken.

By comparison, about 1600 drivers were stopped at checkpoints in Christchurch on Friday evening, for a “yield” that was not

riiuch bigger. The checkpoints, in Wainoni Road, Pages Road, and Colombo Street, resulted in 41 breathscreening tests, 12 evidential breath tests, and five blood tests.

On those figures, country drivers were between three and five times more likely than their city counterparts to be drinking and driving, or at least, suspected of it Traffic Superintendant lan McLaughlan said last evening that he could not think of a reason for the high strike rate in Kaiapoi and Rangiora. It was far too high, he said. Mr McLaughlan did not think it could be explained by the relative lack of public transport in

rural areas. “We know that a tremendous number of people left Christchurch for the holidays, and we said that we would be going into rural areas.” “We will continue with checkpoints in rural areas,” he said.

However, Mr McLaughlan believed that the Ministry was getting more co-operation from drivers over drinking and driving, than it used to get More people were arranging a non-drinking driver when they went out

“The object is not to catch people. We want to make people aware of the dangers.”