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Sober Check Provide Some Interesting Facts On Drink Drive Limits

Friday 15 July 2016, 3:47PM

By Beckie Wright

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With the proliferation of accidents this winter which unfortunately have involved drink driving, it is interesting to hear some of the facts around New Zealand’s regulations regarding the drink drive limits. Sober Check is New Zealand’s largest and most trusted supplier of certified alcohol and drug testing equipment supplying nationwide to a wide range of industry sectors. They are also now an NZTA approved provider of Smart Start alcohol ignition interlock devices for repeat drink drivers. Sober Check have provided the following facts for our information.

The Insurance Council recommends you do not consume any alcohol before driving a motor vehicle. All insurance companies will decline a claim where the driver is found to be over the legal alcohol limit, and the intoxication contributed to the crash. Some insurance companies may also reserve the right to decline your claim if you were under the legal alcohol limit but the alcohol consumed contributed to the crash. Although most insurance companies have changed their policy wordings to being over the legal limit people should check their policy wording to make sure.

Sober Check also look at how bars and clubs will manage when the drink drive limit drops. They are not allowed to serve intoxicated people, however the new drink drive limit is nowhere near intoxication so patrons can be legally served alcohol way beyond the new drink drive limit!  Sober Check have a great tool to complement the existing Host Responsibility programme – a Police grade breathalyser to test your patrons to ensure they  are legal to drive.  This can be used in a variety of different ways – test before entry to stop the pre-loaders entering your premises, test for free as patrons leave (increases loyalty) or charge a small amount for each test.  This way you are giving your patrons an accurate personal breath tester so they can make an informed before they drive.

For those who are wondering how to measure their alcohol level before they drive, they can remove the risk, the stress and the potential fines and loss of licence and invest in a LifeGuard breathalyser from Sober Check. Similarly, the alcohol interlock programme has now been in progress for a couple of years with Smart Start Interlock being one of the NZTA approved providers.  The interlock sentence is being used as a sentencing option predominantly by Judges in Auckland and Christchurch. The alcohol interlock prevents drink driving, a zero alcohol breath sample must be provided before the vehicle will start.  The interlock will also call for random tests while the car is driving. In many cases the interlock sentence has been life changing for clients, in many cases it has forced a review of lifestyle and choices.  The interlock is available as a court ordered option or voluntarily. 

For more information please go to http://www.sobercheck.co.nz .