New devices allow police to carry out roadside evidential breath tests

New handheld breath testing devices will allow police to carry out evidential breath tests at the roadside.

Police said the new Draeger 7510 devices, which would be rolled out from the middle of the month, looked and operated much like those currently used to check drivers' breaths for alcohol.

But road policing Assistant Commissioner Dave Cliff said hundreds of the devices would have additional software enabling them to return an evidential breath test result in a matter of seconds.

"This is good for all involved, as it means the full breath-testing process can be carried out by police at the roadside instantly, eliminating the need to take suspected drink-drivers to a booze bus or police station for an evidential breath test," he said.

"This will save a lot of time for police staff, drivers and any passengers caught up in the process, particularly in rural or remote areas which may be some distance from a police station or where there is limited access to booze buses."

New Zealand will be the first country in Australasia to use the Draeger 7510 as an evidential test device.

Police said the devices had undergone extensive testing to attain the appropriate international standard, and significant additional testing by New Zealand police.

The first 200 devices would be rolled out this month to police in the Bay of Plenty, Eastern, Central, Wellington and Southern districts, and to all one-, two- and three-person stations around the country.

The remaining devices would be rolled out over the next three years.

Police carry out about three million breath tests a year, targeting times and locations when drink driving is more likely.

The approach had helped drive an almost 40 per cent reduction in alcohol related driving offences between 2009 and 2014, police said.