Official papers support lowered adult drink drive limit

Ministry of Transport documents, released under the Official Information Act to the New Zealand Drug Foundation, show that Cabinet has no good reason to keep the adult drink drive limit (Blood Alcohol Content - BAC) at 0.08.

This month Cabinet will decide whether to lower the adult drink drive limit as part of the Government’s “Safer Journeys” road safety strategy.

One paper outlines 300 drink driving studies conducted over 50 years which conclusively demonstrate that critical driving abilities such as vision, steering and braking start to become impaired at 0.05 and by 0.08 a driver is significantly impaired.

The paper estimates that a drink drive limit of 0.05 will save an estimated 15 to 33 lives and prevent up to 686 injuries every year. Estimated annual social cost savings are between $111 and $238 million.

In another paper, the Ministry of Transport advises Transport Minister Steven Joyce that New Zealand’s current BAC limit of 0.08 is “grossly out of line with the level of risk most New Zealanders are prepared to tolerate among drivers” and that “85 percent of people favour a limit of BAC 0.05 or lower”.

“These official papers clearly show that adult drivers can be significantly impaired by alcohol yet still drive legally under our current limit. This can be easily remedied. It’s time for Cabinet to stop deliberating and go with the evidence,” said Drug Foundation Executive Director Ross Bell.

The papers released to the Drug Foundation are available on the Drug Foundation’s website: www.drugfoundation.org.nz/drink-drive-OIA

ENDS

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