Aussie police join in drink-drive operation

File Photo / NZ Herald

Christmas is a time to eat drink and be merry, but it's also a time people die on the roads and police in Australia and New Zealand are cracking down on drink drivers this holiday season in a joint campaign.

Police chiefs and commissioners in the two countries are launching the campaign tomorrow to draw attention the broader implications of getting behind to wheel drunk.

New Zealand police road policing national manager Superintendent Paula Rose said if a person drank and drove with a blood alcohol level of more than the legal limit of 80mg per 100ml, they were sixteen times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than a sober driver.

"We are sick of spending the holidays scraping bodies off the road and we are determined to make sure we do everything we can to stop people drinking and driving along with other unsafe driving behaviour."

During the weekend, officers would run more checkpoints and breath testing across all districts in the two countries.

Police were putting pressure on drivers from the start of the holiday season to implore them to drive safe all the time, not just most of the time, Ms Rose said.

"We intend to keep the pressure on over the entire holiday period. This weekend is just the beginning."

- NZPA