It shouldn't. The result of someone drunk at the wheel can be devastating and far-reaching.
In 2019, alcohol or drugs were a factor in 432 serious injury crashes and another 131 fatal crashes. Think about that for a moment. That's 131 families who will have just experienced Christmas without a loved one because their life was snuffed out early because someone got too wasted to drive. Such trauma is entirely preventable, all it takes is a taxi.
In my view, drink-drivers are among the most selfish in society. The impact of their actions isn't exclusive to them. Too often their decision is inflicted on other road users with zero say on the matter. These are innocent people who simply happen to be sharing the same road space as a driver who can no longer control their vehicle because they're too inebriated. It often ends in tragedy.
Over the years in this job, we've covered many awful crashes resulting from drink-driving. I look forward to the day when such an event will become a rarity. But will it?
According to drinkdriving.org.nz the issue is on a decline in New Zealand with the number of people getting caught dropping year by year with 20,903 convictions in 2014. In 2019, Newshub reported convictions reduced to 17,016 in 2018.
That's great, but I doubt it's enough.
Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Brent Crowe said the figures from the police sting served as a stark reminder of why they always breath-tested every driver.
Fair call.
There really is no excuse.
In my view, if someone is caught drink-driving, they deserve all the police can throw at them.
I'll save my sympathy for those families of the next drink-drive victim.