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Source: ONE News -
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Police are warning teenage drivers there will be no grace period for strict new drink driving laws.
From midnight, teenage drivers will not be allowed to drink
alcohol at all if they are driving.
The law is being changed because of the high number of teenagers in
crashes involving alcohol.
Hard on the heels of the driving age being raised from from 15 to
16 at the beginning of this month, it will now be against the law
for drivers under the age of 20 to consume alcohol before
driving.
National Manager for Road Policing, Superintendent Paula Rose, told ONE News that when some young people are out, their friends put pressure on them to have a drink or two because they say "hey, you can get away with it".
But she said a zero alcohol limit sends a very clear message that "if you're driving, just no alcohol."
The Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee says it is delighted with this new policy.
The Committee, which works under the umbrella of the Health Quality & Safety Commission, reviews deaths of children and young people aged 28 days to 24 years, to find ways to prevent deaths in the future.
It said that every year about 130 young people aged 15 to 24 die from unintentional injury related to motor vehicles, and alcohol contributes to more than a third of these deaths.
The Committee said imposing a zero limit for drinking and driving by teens will "give absolute clarity" that any alcohol is too much to allow safe driving, and help turn New Zealand's grim statistics around.
"We need to put as much separation as possible between the processes of young people learning how to drink alcohol responsibly and learning how to drive safely," said Dr Nick Baker, the Committee chair.
"We tend to underestimate the years it takes to develop driving skills, and alcohol causes a greater impairment in young people, at lower levels, than for older people."
The Committee said it is common for women under 24 and young men between 15 and 19 to die because of alcohol consumed by other people. It hoped the new law can help potential passengers by making it clear that if a driver under 20 has had any alcohol it is unsafe and the driver is breaking the law.
The owners of vehicles also have an important role to keep young people safe by not letting them use vehicles if they have consumed alcohol, The Committee said.
The new law will make boundary setting clearer and vehicle owners will be aware that their insurance cover may be impacted if their vehicle is damaged when being driven by a young driver who has consumed any alcohol, it said.
Baker said: "The combination of motor vehicles and alcohol is a major contributor to death and permanent injury in our young people. We must all work to keep young people safe around the most dangerous thing in their lives - motor vehicles."
For more information, check out reports on the Child and Youth Mortality Review Committee's website .
