Govt supports legalised drunk driving, says trust

Alcohol Healthwatch has told the Government it is supporting "legalised drunk driving" by delaying moves to lower the drink driving limit.

The charitable trust claims the current limit is costing lives in a submission to the Land Transport (Road Safety and Other Matters) Amendment Bill select committee made today.

An average man can currently have six standard drinks and a woman four standard drinks in the 90 minutes before driving, the submission says.

"We assert that this does not equate to social or responsible drinking. Rather it more closely equates to 'binge-drinking' and therefore represents legalised drunk-driving."

Alcohol Healthwatch is an independent charitable trust which works to reduce alcohol-related harm.

It is calling for the drink driving limit to be lowered from 80mg (0.08g) to 50mg (0.05g) of alcohol per 100ml of blood.

That would save 14 to 72 lives and 640 to 1280 injuries each year, its select committee submission says.

Cost savings would be between $111 million and $238 million a year in social costs and $94.5million in ACC claims, it says.

"It is extremely disappointing that the blood alcohol concentration for adult drivers will not be reduced," the submission says.

"Lowering the Blood Alcohol Content to 0.05 is a proven intervention that would reduce the number of crashes, injuries and deaths on the road."

National has proposed a raft of changes to road safety legislation, including a zero blood alcohol limit for drivers under 20.

But it has stopped short of lowering the adult drink driving limit, opting instead for two years of research on crashes involving drivers with a blood alcohol reading between 50 and 100mg.

Herald on Sunday Editor Bryce Johns addressed the select committee yesterday to say a lower limit needs to be adopted immediately.

The move would have widespread public support and it would save lives, he said.

More than 5000 people have signed up to the 'Two Drinks Max' campaign on nzherald.co.nz.

About 30,000 voted in an online poll on their personal drink driving limits, with 78 per cent saying they would not drive after more than two drinks.