Drinking and driving

Driving over the legal blood alcohol limit is an offence that carries heavy penalties for those caught in the act. If you are going to drink, the only way to avoid fines or even possible prison time is to find a safe way to get home safe way to get home other than driving.

Research shows that consuming even small quantities of alcohol impairs your judgement, ability and reaction times. For more information about drinking and the impact it has on your ability to drive visit the Land Transport New Zealand website.

There are two ways police can assess your blood alcohol levels (BAC);

• Breath – breath testing measures the number of micrograms (mcgs) of alcohol per litre of breath
• Blood – A blood test measures the number of milligrams (mgs) of alcohol per 100 millilitres (mls) of blood.

Both measures assess the level of alcohol in the body, and are used for screening and evidential purposes.

The current legal limit for breath and blood alcohol levels are:

• Drivers under 20 years – 150mcgs breath or 30mg blood
• Drivers over 20 years – 400mcgs breath or 80mg blood.

And don’t forget if you’ve had too much to drink, then its likely you’re mates have too, so if they offer to drive you should suggest you all share a taxi home.