Out of breath
Roadside testing of drivers takes huge hit
The odds of drink-drivers getting breath-tested have taken a dramatic dive as police slash the number of roadside checks.
Fewer than 1.7 million drivers were breath-tested in the last financial year compared to more than 3 million five years earlier, police figures show.
As New Zealand reels from 2018 – the worst road toll in a decade during which 380 people died – police annual report figures show the last financial year had among the fewest roadside breath tests in recent years.
The 1,683,314 breath tests were less than the 2017-2018 target of 2-2.4 million and police acknowledged there was ‘‘lessthan-desirable’’ resourcing for road policing due to increased demand in other areas of policing. Police also said, despite fewer checks, more people were nabbed for drink-driving.
Leah Abrams was driving home in Auckland in 2015 when she was hit by a drunk driver. She had to be cut from her car and broke her arm in two places then spent all of 2016 recovering.
She went on to establish No One Ever Stands Alone, a charity promoting awareness and education about the effects of drugged and drunk driving.
‘‘In this day and age there are more things pulling for [police] time and attention,’’ she said.
Road policing general manager Superintendent Steve Greally said there were fewer alcohol tests being done but police were taking a ‘‘targeted riskbased approach’’.
‘‘This means we are putting our people where they are more likely to have an effect. We’re not after numbers, we want impact.
‘‘While there may be a reduced number of people going through checkpoints, the checkpoints are in the places we need them to be.’’
While the number of breath alcohol tests had decreased, the rate of detections had increased over the past 18 months, he said.
Police Minister Stuart Nash said when Labour was elected, police were short of 111 dedicated road policing officers. ‘‘By July 2018 all of those vacancies were filled and there are now 1070 dedicated road policing staff.’’ AA road safety spokesman Dylan Thomsen said the drop in breathtesting was ‘‘very concerning’’.
‘‘We do worry that drop-off in checkpoints is meaning we are not seeing drink-driving crashes continue to reduce,’’ he said. ‘‘They had been reducing for a long time but in recent years we have seen that turn around.’’ Police had focused on targeting high risk in recent years, such as focusing on rural drinkdrivers rather than high-profile urban checkpoints, he said. ‘‘We need to look at whether the numbers have gone too low and we are losing the deterrent effect.’’
Road safety charity Brake New Zealand director Caroline Perry said the figures were ‘‘extremely concerning’’. ‘‘Alcohol continues to be a factor in a significant number of road deaths and injuries, so we need our drink-drive laws to be enforced.’’
In the 2015-2016 year, police recorded only 1.47 million breath tests but explained the drop as being partly because data was being downloaded less frequently.
A VICTIM SPEAKS: Gary Farrow is a Waikatobased Stuff reporter
‘‘In February 2007, I was hit headon by a drunk driver.
‘‘I was alone at the wheel of my car on the open road, while he was driving a van, which ended up crushing the front of my car.
‘‘Countless broken bones, a brain injury which partially paralysed me, and a near-death experience, meant I wasn’t going back to university anytime soon.
‘‘Indeed, I ended up in hospital for more than two months, and living in rehab for over seven months before I got to live at the family home again. I have never met the drunk driver, who was eventually sentenced to three months in prison, but the damage had been done.
‘‘Drink-driving needs to be discouraged and curtailed.
‘‘I believe breath testing is a key means of achieving this, along with education into road safety, and a long hard look at the dangers of the country’s drinking culture. Reducing the amount of breath tests is not a good path to start down.
‘‘Once drink-driving perpetrators know this is happening, they will gradually become more willing to flout the law, while inherently risking their lives and those of others.’’