Name change for booze bus
The police team targeting drugged and drink-drivers in Taranaki has had a name change but its focus remains the same.
As the festive and summer season gets into full swing, the Traffic and Alcohol Group (TAG) has become the Impairment Prevention Team and the unit’s trusty Booze Bus has been renamed the Mobile Road Safety Base (MRSB).
While the names have changed and the squad has a brand new vehicle, its focus on removing dangerous impaired drivers from the region’s roads stays constant.
Sergeant Pat Duffy, officer in charge of the Highway Patrol, said the new branding reflected the evolution of the role.
‘‘The booze bus gives the impression that we only deal with alcohol, with the increase in drug use they’ve gone down the path of a suitable name that incorporates both alcohol and drugs,’’ Duffy said. ‘‘We are finding more of these sort of people (drugged drivers) behind the wheel of the car and as a result the compulsory impairment tests are being conducted more than ever before.’’
Duffy said both groups were responsible for making roads unsafe for themselves and others.
‘‘They (drugged drivers) are just as dangerous as any drunk driver, if not more so.’’
The new MRSB, which is being trialled in Taranaki for three months, is a streamlined version of the booze bus which still allows officers to photograph, fingerprint and process impaired drivers and even has a soundproof booth so lawyers can be called in private.
‘‘The focus and goals are no different to what we were already doing. It’s just more of a recognition of the perception that is we deal with alcohol only, that has never been the case, and now it’s just that recognition it’s impaired drivers no matter what they’ve taken,’’ Duffy said.
The changes have come into effect just as the unit gears up to patrol Taranaki’s roads during the Christmas and New Year period. Duffy said a recent spate of drink-drivers with breath alcohol levels above 1000 micrograms, more than four times the legal limit of 250mcg, was a concern.
‘‘They are not only risking themselves but they are risking every other road user out there including you and me. That’s why we do what we do – to get these sorts of people off the road.
‘‘We want everyone, including that driver, to make it through Christmas and New Year with their family instead of one of us having to knock on the door of the family home saying they are not coming home ever again or – worse than that – taking out someone else.’’
During the holiday season Duffy said police were encouraging motorists to drive to the conditions, wear their seatbelts, put their phones down and never drive when they were impaired, whether by alcohol, drugs or fatigue.