Drink drivers 'taking a punt'

Drink drivers are fighting against common sense, say police.

Rotorua drivers are "fighting against common sense" by continuing to drink and drive, according to the region's road policing manager.

New figures show 145 drivers have been caught with an alcohol level above the new lower limit but under the previous limit, since the law changed nearly a year ago.

They were fined a total of $26,000 and given 50 demerit points each after police found they were driving with an excess breath alcohol level of between 251mcg and 400mcg (or more than 50ml of alcohol in their blood). The figures are for the 10 months from December 1 last year to the end of September this year.

According to statistics obtained by the Rotorua Daily Post, 360 drivers were caught drink-driving between January 1 and September 30 this year.

There were a total of 462 drink-drivers caught in 2014.

Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Kevin Taylor said when the zero tolerance for alcohol came into force for drivers aged under 20, police thought there would be an increase in the number of young drivers being caught with alcohol in their systems.

"It was the opposite. They took the sensible approach and didn't drink and drive. It's a shame 145 adults in Rotorua have not used the same common sense."

Mr Taylor said the 145 drivers had clearly "taken a punt and got it wrong".

Before the Government changed the law in December 1 last year, there was extensive research which showed people who had a lower level of alcohol in their system were still impaired, Mr Taylor said.

So far this year, 43 people have been killed on Bay of Plenty roads, 11 more than the same time last year.

"The Bay of Plenty has already recorded more fatalities than any other police district this calendar year. That is a poor reflection of our community. The police are doing our level best to make sure everyone gets through to Christmas, but some people are just fighting against common sense."