Editorial: When will we stop drinking and driving

Andrew Austin, Editor of Hawke's Bay Today.

It is incredible that in this day and age, with so many horrific statistics about fatalities on our roads, that many people still drink and drive.

Once again we have Hawke's Bay police expressing concern that the message is not getting through and people are still getting behind the wheel having drunk too much.

Senior Constable Andy Clinton, a good police officer who has done a lot for the community, has admitted to Hawke's Bay Today that he finds the situation "really disappointing".

"No matter how many campaigns or how many times unfortunately someone is seriously injured or killed as the result of a drunk driver, people still do it. That strengthens our resolve to make sure that we keep the road safe for the communities, because the majority of people don't accept this behaviour," he says.

This comes from a police officer on the frontline who has seen how people behave.

The problem is many of us are responsible and many of us have thought about the consequences of our actions. But there are some who just refuse to realise what they are doing.

They know that the police are out there and that the full force of the law will come down on them, but they continue to put themselves and other people in danger.

Imagine having to live with the thought that because you had those extra drinks, someone else is dead, that another family is grieving.

Recently, in a weekend blitz in Gisborne, the Traffic Alcohol Booze Bus had a total of 19 drivers fail the three stages of testing — passive test, screening test and evidential test.

Of those, they were evenly split between those who received an infringement notice, $200 fine and 50 demerit points for allegedly blowing between 250mcg and 400mcg, while the others were summonsed to court for allegedly blowing more than 400mcg.

They also caught seven disqualified drivers whose cars were impounded for 28 days, as well as other offences including breaching the graduated driver's licence system, seatbelts, registrations and warrants.

It is simply reckless behaviour and people have to realise that not only the police, but the wider community will not tolerate this behaviour.

For many years this newspaper used to run lists of people caught over the drink-drive limit. Maybe it is time we started doing that again on a regular basis.

Maybe that will help get the message across.