Drink driving

Before the summer is over there will be a number of tragic drink-related driving deaths, as often as not leaving families of innocent parties grieving the loss of loved ones.

Police officers from the Invercargill Traffic Alcohol Group were breath-testing drivers in Taieri Rd last night as part of a pre-Christmas drink-driving campaign in Dunedin.

Alcohol was involved in 50% of fatal crashes on Central Otago roads in the past decade, community road safety adviser Jo Robinson says.

How many Southlanders can you fit in a ute?

A Dunedin security guard who won the praise of police for stopping a recidivist drink-driver from continuing his journey received a rare honour for his efforts yesterday.

They should be dead. They are the drivers caught driving drunk on New Zealand roads during the past decade who have recorded the highest blood-alcohol levels, endangering their lives and the lives of others.

Police say the fault for any crashes or injuries that followed three pursuits in the South within 48 hours sits squarely at the door of the drivers and motorcyclist they pursued.

Measures put in place to stop bad behaviour at Otematata during Labour Weekend were so successful they are likely to be used again next year.

A "zero-tolerance" policy will see teenage drivers fined $200 and issued 50 demerit points for any positive test for alcohol.

Five white crosses which appeared in the centre of Oamaru yesterday were a sobering reminder of road deaths involving young people in Waitaki in the past five years.

Southerners can no longer tolerate the "elephant in the room" that is our drink-driving culture, says Otago-Southland coroner David Crerar, who has found speed and drink, rather than a dangerously modified vehicle, caused the deaths of three Invercargill teenagers last July.