Labour Party transport spokesperson Darren Hughes has drafted a member's bill intended to lower the legal blood alcohol level for drivers.
His Land Transport (Safer Alcohol Levels for Driving) Bill would lower the blood alcohol limit from 0.8 to 0.6 grams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood.
Hughes said the bill was designed to give support to a National government which had been dithering on the issue.
"It's clear that National doesn't want to stand alone on this issue, they now know that they don't have to," Hughes said.
"The Law Commission's wide-ranging report on alcohol left no doubt that blood alcohol limits must come down."
More research was unnecessary, would delay a law change, and would cost lives, he said.
"The last thing we need is two more years of research - we have research coming out of our ears."
Member's bills require government support in order to pass a first reading, though they first must emerge from a ballot.
