Raise drink age, coroner says

A coroner is urging the Government to raise the drinking age to 20 after the death of a 19-year-old drink driver.

George Bernard Holland, of Blenheim, died during the early hours of August 6 last year when he failed to give way at a one-way bridge in Marlborough, colliding head-on with a heavy truck and trailer. Holland, who that night drank about 12 cans of beer while on a ‘‘boys weekend’’ in Murchison, also had MDMA (ecstasy) and cannabis in his system.

Coroner David Robinson said the crash could have been prevented if Holland had adhered to the zero alcohol level for drivers under 20.

In findings released today, the coroner refers to extensive research in recommending the Government return the minimum alcohol purchase age to 20 with no exceptions.

The age was reduced in December 1999.

One study found ‘‘significantly’’ more alcohol-involved crashes among15 to 19-year-olds in the four years following while a more recent study found alcohol-related crashes in this age group increased from 102 in 2014 to 142 last year. ‘‘There appears to be incontrovertible evidence of a direct link between the lowering of the alcohol purchasing age in 1999 and an increase in the incidence of injury and fatal accidents involving alcoholimpaired drivers aged 15 to 19 years,’’ the coroner said.

The day before his death, Holland travelled about two hours with seven of his mates to a property in Murchison. Once off the

main road, Holland had two beers before arriving at the house on Tutaki Valley Rd about 6pm. William van Asch, who travelled in Holland’s car, said his friend had a further 10 beers at the house before the group decided to leave.

The plan was for van Asch’s girlfriend and her friend to drive the group home, leaving Holland’s car behind. But Holland was determined to drive, his friends told police.

Van Asch and Holland argued and Van Asch tried to stop Holland, but couldn’t. The group decided to travel in convoy with Holland at the rear, intending to stop at Lake Rotoiti to see how he was going. Van Asch said Holland was a bit drunk ‘‘but not written off’’. As they travelled towards St Arnaud, Holland overtook them at about 100kmh. When they got to the meeting place he was not there.

Leslie Kemp was about 50 metres away from the northern end of Marlborough’s Wye River bridge when he noticed headlights coming towards him. It was

1.40am. The bridge gives vehicles approaching from the north rightof-way. Kemp expected the other driver to pull to the left but Holland drove into the path of Kemp’s truck. ‘‘[It] was like an explosion’’, Kemp told police. The front of Holland’s ute was crushed and on fire.

Blood samples showed Holland had 133 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit for adults is

50mg; for drivers under 20, zero. While van Asch and the others were to be ‘‘commended’’ for their efforts to stop Holland from driving, the coroner said it was apparent the group had little knowledge of the effects of alcohol.

The coroner cited almost 20 research papers from New Zealand and overseas on the effects of alcohol on drivers.

‘‘In the absence of drivers applying common sense, the coroner said it was ‘‘incumbent on the State’’ to further restrict access to alcohol.