Rural Drink Drive Group (RDDG) sergeant Bruce Martin said the majority were Lakes District and Central Otago residents who had not rested long enough for the alcohol to leave their systems.
Four police officers in the Alexandra-based RDDG, six officers in the Invercargill-based Southern Traffic Alcohol Group and five Central Otago highway patrol officers checked 11,500 vehicles and processed 25 drink-drivers within the district between December 29 until January 3.
RDDG and highway patrol officers set up a checkpoint on the intersection of State Highways 84 and 6, between Wanaka and Albert Town, until 11am on New Year's Day.
A total of 11 drink-drivers were processed out of the 700 vehicles stopped.
Sgt Martin said the number of motorists who were caught in those 11 hours was surprising.
"Those people had gone to sleep then woken up and gone to work or their travel destination and had a short amount of sleep.
"A general rough guide is 12 hours of rest from the time of finishing drinking."
"The vast majority [of motorists] are reasonably well behaved, as far as drink-driving goes. What's disappointing to see is the number of recidivist offenders who keep coming to our attention."
Sgt Martin said drink-drivers were of any age and background and were more often male than female.
However, one of the highest alleged readings came from a 24-year-old New Zealand woman, residing in Queenstown, whose excess breath alcohol registered 1086mcg, a week after New Year's Day.
Sgt Martin said everyone was different and handled alcohol in different ways.
Factors included levels of fitness, stress and body size and if the individual had eaten food to absorb the alcohol.
"People often say it's the tourists drink-driving, but the hard reality is we're dealing with more Otago-Southland people than them," he said.
"Limit yourself to one drink, then you know you're safe. If you're going to go out drinking, the important thing is to drink sensibly and make sure you eat while you're drinking.
"It's pointless having something at the end of the night because the alcohol is already in your system."
Sgt Martin said officers were pleased more motorists were reporting instances of hazardous driving to the police to take the danger off the road.
"If driving is erratic or crossing the centre line, call 111 or *555. We'd rather go out and find there's nothing than attend a serious or fatal crash. Prevention is certainly better at the end of the day."
Know your limits
- The alcohol limit per litre of breath for people aged under 20 years is 150mcg. The limit for individuals over 20 is 400mcg.
- A person's driving licence will be suspended on the spot for 28 days if he or she drives with more than 650mcg of alcohol per litre of breath, or drives with more than 130mcg of alcohol per litre of blood.
- They also face fines of up to $4500 if aged over 20 and $2500 if aged under 20, and a term of imprisonment if the judge sees fit.
- A 20-year-old convicted of drink-driving for the first time stands to lose his or her driving licence for six months.
- If the person is aged under 20 and blowing 150mcg to 400mcg, it usually means a minimum driving disqualification of three months. If they blow more than 400mcg they are liable to lose their licence for six months.
- If the drink-driver has two previous drink-driving convictions within the past four years and the excess breath-alcohol registers more than 400mcg, his or her driving licence is suspended and the vehicle impounded.
- Third and subsequent offences draw maximum fines of $6000, prison terms of up to two years and a one-year minimum disqualification from driving.
