Police warn Rugby World Cup fans to stay sober for school runs

Checkpoints will be regular sights and extra police will patrol the streets. Photo / Duncan Brown

The booze bus will be visible during the big tournament.

Drink-driving blitzes during the Rugby World Cup will target popular school runs.

Police launched a nationwide crackdown this weekend in a bid to deter intoxicated footy fans from getting behind the wheel.

Waitemata road policing manager Inspector Trevor Beggs said one of the main concerns was keeping Auckland's school pupils safe.

He was worried some fans would drink early before slipping into their daily routine.

"Police's main concern is the timing of the games.

"If people consume alcohol, the games will finish and we are almost into the time of the morning school run," Beggs said.

"We're encouraging people to consider other options - have a sober driver or leave the car at home and take public transport.

"We're committed to having staff out early. Our mantra is 'anytime, anywhere'. We will be very visible."

Checkpoints will be regular sights and extra police will patrol the streets.

Even before the World Cup kicked off, Beggs said, police were concerned at the numbers of drivers over the limit.

"We ran a two-hour checkpoint near Mangawhai last Friday and in that small amount of time in a rural area we caught six drivers over the limit.

"That's pretty disappointing."

Auckland City Police are also about to release a new social media campaign aimed at preventing drink-driving.

"We want to stop drink-driving from happening, so we're encouraging people to keep themselves and others safe," Inspector Mark Benefield said.

"We will use social media to promote safe behaviour and have already liaised with premises over compliance and what they need to do to meet the new laws for the Rugby World Cup."

Bars would also be regularly monitored to ensure they were employing alcohol harm prevention measures, including not selling booze to intoxicated fans.