300 caught in post-work drink-drive sting

Police are going to be targeting Wellington's post-work drinkers, after a two-week crackdown netted 300 drivers who failed initial breath alcohol testing.

However, just 28 went onto be prosecuted after the remaining 272 passed the second screening test, Wellington Inspector Peter Baird told NZPA.

"It shows that people are willing to have a few drinks and drive and take a gamble and hope that they are not going to meet an alcohol checkpoint," he said.

"We've obviously got a bit of work to do in the late afternoon, early evening, particularly in Wellington city with people leaving work on a Friday, and we'll probably do a bit of work around that."

Many of the drink-drivers were caught on Molesworth Street and Cable Street in the central city early on Friday evenings, on their way home after work drinks.

Mr Baird said it was not okay for drivers to take such risks when so close to the drink-driving limit that their driving would be impaired. Most failed the youth limit, if not the adult limit.

"The gamble for the motorist is that they may have failed the (breath) test, but it's a bit of a gamble between that and the next test, and it looks like people are willing to take that gamble.

"It's like Russian roulette, really. I'll have a couple of beers and I'll be under or I'll have a couple of beers and I'll be over."

Most of the testing was done this weekend, as part of operation Raid, a joint initiative with Australia to mark the start of the festive Christmas holiday period.

Mr Baird said despite public debate over the role of repeat drink drivers, 80 per cent of those caught were first-time offenders.

"We're not talking about a criminal element, we're talking about your average educated citizen, leaving work, commuting and making that choice to use private transport after a few drinks instead of using what's a reasonably good public transport to get home."

Drink drivers with more than the legal limit of 80 mg per 100 ml are 16 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a sober driver, police have said.

- NZPA