'Regular irregularity' the key to breath testing

Concern about the increasing number of drink drivers on New Zealand roads was the catalyst for Operation Remove All Impaired Drivers (RAID) recently.

Police staff from one end of the country to the other helped stop and breath test 43,000 drivers on Friday 25 May. 304 of those drivers will be prosecuted for drink drive offences.

Because of this, another Operation RAID is planned for the near future.

As at 4 July, the 2007 year to date road toll is currently 9 more killed than at the same time last year. 203 people have been killed on our roads so far.

Superintendent Dave Cliff, National Road Policing Manager, says the reasons behind the rise in drink drivers is complex and appears to be due to a combination of factors.

“A number of drivers appear to have become immune to the drink-drive messages and don’t believe they’ll be apprehended,” he says.

“This is, of course, a misapprehension, but doesn’t change the fact that we have an alarming rise in the number of drivers detected who are impaired and definitely not safe on the roads.

“What needs to be remembered is that drunk drivers place a huge burden on the entire community and in 2006 alone were responsible for 1611 injury crashes with a social cost of $748 million.

“These people are endangering us all and it’s a situation that neither the Police nor the public should tolerate,” Dave says.

“The best method of deterring drink driving is by maximising the number of people breath tested and exposed to high visibility testing.

“The secret is to adopt a philosophy of regular irregularity, to keep potential offenders uncertain about when and where we will be breath testing.”

Night time Police patrols operating short duration checkpoints help deter
would-be drink drivers.