"Horrific" tally for police impairment blitz

Constable Ted Symes checks the breath alcohol level of Steve Morris, as his wife Reo Morris looks on. Photo / Warren Buckland.

The newly renamed Eastern District Impairment Prevention Team has re-branded and increased resources and messaging in an attempt to make all facets of the road safe and reach as many localities as possible. They have been out in force with their Mobile Road Safety Base, commonly referred to as the "Booze Bus" in the past, working from Waipukurau to Tolaga Bay and Gisborne and will continue to do so during the festive season and beyond. A recent blitz found 24 drivers across nine different checkpoints were found to be impaired to some degree by alcohol. Hawke's Bay Today joined the team.

The moment of realisation was obvious for the teenage driver of the old vehicle.

His eyes darted between the familiar blue lights beckoning him to come forward and an escape route. But the latter proved too tempting, causing him to quickly perform a U-turn and race away.

Barely seconds later, the police siren pierced through the gentle hum of traffic on the busy Napier road.

What ensued was a dramatic chase where the three miscreants took off on foot. They knew they were in the wrong.

"We didn't want to get caught," the driver would later say - a smirk on his face.

It was just after 7pm on a Friday night. The Mobile Safety Base was set up on Breakwater Rd, the first of three checkpoints that evening, waving hundreds of drivers through.

After several minutes searching side streets and trying to find the young teenagers, Senior Constable Andy Clinton was empty-handed. But a timely 111 call from port workers alerted him to their whereabouts.

"Port security saw him fly [into the car park], ditch his car and him and his mates hid in a bush," Clinton says.

"If the port workers hadn't rung us, they wouldn't have been held accountable. Carrying passengers and alcohol on board is a recipe for disaster." A sheepish "it's us" saw the driver apprehended for his actions and taken back to the booze bus.

The 19-year-old was the second fleeing driver of the evening. One more would take place within the hour.

The first, however, was a sober young visitor who had missed the turnoff to her night's accommodation. But nevertheless, the watchful police officers had a duty to follow.

However, it wasn't so innocent for the teenager who blew an evidential breath test reading of 73mcg. The legal limit for those under 21 is zero. Also, his restricted licence prevented him from carrying passengers.

"I almost lost my license," he says, nonchalantly. "I knew I had fuelled up. I knew I was under-age. But everybody does it." His planned trip to the beach with the "boys'" after a "few beers" was quickly cut short. "C'mon," his similar-aged mate was heard saying while he picked him up.

His demeanour was very different to that of an older woman who blew between 250mcg and 400mcg, receiving an infringement notice, with a $200 fine and 50 demerit points.

"I had a couple of drinks at the pub. I didn't think it would be enough," she says, visibly shaken from the ordeal. "It's always a couple," Clinton says later. "The days of having a couple of beers after work are gone, because you are running a gauntlet."

Her first offence had rendered her almost in tears, as she waited for a taxi home. "I won't be doing that again. It was very nerve-racking."

The tension in the air was palpable and the shame associated was written on the face of a number of drivers who were forced to stand on the side of the road and call their relatives to pick them up.

The formidable words "I now require you to accompany me to the booze bus" will send a wave of anguish through anyone.

Twenty-four drivers, as young as 18 and as old as 71 would later find their plans halted due to one simple, yet crucial mistake. And that doesn't take into account those who were identified by the team's traffic colleagues or by the public safety teams or community officers.

"It's pretty horrific really," Clinton adds. He says it "affects all spectrums of society" from professionals to unemployed. Not one geographical location, gender, or age can be pinpointed.

Their message is simple: don't drink and drive.

"Road safety is everyone's responsibility" and "Drink-driving stops here ... before here" are the two of the catch-phrases painted on all three sides of the Booze Bus.

The Mobile Safety Base, which is supported by Road Safe Hawke's Bay, is trying to be as visible as possible in the Eastern District. And now, their newly changed name - Impairment Prevention Team - recognises that their focus is not just on alcohol, but on all facets of road safety, including drug driving and fatigue.

"We just want to get these people off the roads because they cause a lot of harm for our wider community and whanau," Clinton says.

"Of concern was that there were a number of young people that do not seem to appreciate the effect that having a drink-driving conviction could have on them in later life whether in terms of employment or even being able to travel to certain countries if they wished to travel."

Road Safe Hawke's Bay regional manager Linda Anderson said their message will always be to drive sober. "Any amount of impairment makes you dangerous." She said, often the choice of someone to drive while impaired affected so many other people.

It also reached melting point when 25 impaired drivers were caught over two nights in Gisborne earlier this month, half of which will go to court for blowing over the 400mcg limit.

Tairawhiti Area Commander, Inspector Sam Aberahama, said it was disappointing that people were still drinking alcohol and driving.

"While a big portion of our community has shifted their mind-set in this regard, we are still apprehending those that continue to drink and drive. These people will drink and make a conscious decision to drive which must change.

"Prevention is the key, leading up to and over the festive season, if you intend to drink, make alternative arrangements to get home. Police want everyone to get home safely to their loved ones."

But despite all this, the message is getting through, albeit slowly.

The Eastern District Impairment Prevention Team are making themselves visible, particularly this festive season, to ensure people are safe on the road. Photo / Warren Buckland

Sergeant Paul Ormerod says since the Police Commissioner introduced a 5 per cent reduction of the road toll in their strategic targets, there have been 17 fewer deaths than at the same time before the target was set.

"The overall total may be high or close to it, for the calendar year, but since the commissioner launched his [strategic target], the road toll has dropped.

"Certainly we would like to see it reduced as much as we can."