The number and percentage of ‘driver deaths with excess alcohol’ show an increasing trend.

Drink driving is a major factor in crashes and fatalities in the Auckland region. RoadSafe Auckland works with local authorites and the police targeting programmes to reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes:

• Host responsibility from alcohol providers,
  
• Programmes aimed at young drivers and repeat drink drivers,
  
• Improved legislation and consistent enforcement of alcohol laws.

Enforcement

Compulsory and mobile breath testing is a key strategy used by police to enforce the drink driving laws and to reduce the number of alcohol-related crashes.

Police have reported a growing number of repeat drink drivers, younger drink drivers and female drink drivers. Police and local authorities have requested legislation to lower the blood alcohol limit to reverse this trend and its related road trauma. There is also support for raising the minimum age for purchasing alcohol to 20 years.

Repeat Drink Drivers

RoadSafe Auckland has produced detailed guidelines for people working with repeat drink drivers along with a handout for repeat drink drivers themselves.

• "Breaking the Cycle" (PFD 725 KB) A guide for professionals working with repeat drink drivers

• "Keys to Break the Cycle" (PFD 140 KB) A booklet for repeat drink drivers

Drugs & Driving

While alcohol is the most widely used drug involved in road trauma in New Zealand, research suggests that the contribution of drugs other than alcohol is under-represented in the police-reported crash system due to the lack of roadside and hospital drug testing procedures for people involved in fatal and serious road crashes.

Cannabis is the most widely used recreational drug, after alcohol, and also the most used drug in combination with alcohol, within the drinking driver population of New Zealand.

The research suggests that the combined use of cannabis and alcohol has a significantly higher incidence within fatally injured drivers in comparison to each substance alone and other drug combinations.

Trials of interventions to reduce the number of people driving while under the influence of drugs are being put in place, including the development of roadside tests for screening drink drivers for recent cannabis use. The requirement of blood samples from all fatal and seriously injured drivers at hospitals for drug testing purposes will also help establish the links between drugs and driving.