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Stephen Joyce may want to wait to lower the drink-drive limit - but in his back yard, he's about the only one.
The Herald on Sunday this week visited the Transport Minister's neighbourhood in Dairy Flat, about 20km north of Auckland, to ask his neighbours to pledge to the Two Drinks Max campaign.
The campaign is the Herald on Sunday's initiative to make the roads safer by ensuring people do not drive after consuming more than two standard drinks. More than 7000 people have so far signed on.
Of the 18 people asked near Joyce's house, only one declined to pledge and only two did not support the lowering of the drink-drive limit.
Many were concerned to hear that Ministry of Transport statistics show more people are killed or injured through drink-drive crashes on rural roads than urban roads.
Joyce last year told a conference of traffic experts in Auckland he could drink three-quarters of a bottle of wine in 90 minutes yet still be under the adult limit.
"That's just ridiculous," he told the Local Authority Traffic Institute conference.
Ceramicist Sharon De Coek lives down the road from Joyce's $1.5 million gated homestead.
The 41-year-old said something had to be done to lower the road toll and lowering the limit was a step toward making the roads safer. "Everything's got to start somewhere."
She said changing the limits would go a long way towards changing people's attitudes towards drink-driving, and Joyce was holding things up.
"Two years is too long to wait - to me, anything that's going to save lives is a priority."
De Coek owns a breathalyser and has seen firsthand how much she can legally drink and get behind the wheel.
"We actually have done that experiment ourselves. We were shocked at how much you can drink."
Other neighbours also pledged their support.
Teacher Warwick Fenton said New Zealand needed to get a backbone in setting legislation.
"There's lots of traffic on these roads now. I wish they'd go a bit stronger. Australia sets the standard really."
Peter Manase, 43, travel broker, said he wouldn't drink if he was driving anyway, and friends who drink at his house are invited to stay rather than get behind the wheel.
"I've no issue with lowering the limit."
Manase said the extra two years the Government needed for research was unnecessary.
"The data's already there. How many more deaths does it take?"
Other pledgers
Retirees Darcy and Iris Hughes, 91 and 87
Maureen Abrahms, caregiver, 63
Philip Reithmaier, business owner, 57
Finance lecturer Mark Werman, 60
Noriaki Nakajima, trader, 52
Janette Walker, retired, 76
Janet Donovan, housewife, 49
Matt Deeb, student, 22
Karen Davy, entertainer, 40-something
Kerry Lambert, business owner
Noel Leslie, colour therapist
Viv and Uwe Balzat
Roger Liu
