Alcohol in New Zealand road trauma.

Alcohol-impaired driving is one of the major contributing factors to fatal and serious crashes in New Zealand. To curb the high level of road trauma resulting from drink-driving, a compulsory breath test (CBT) programme was introduced in 1993 and a supplementary road safety package (SRSP) in 1995/1996. The SRSP aimed to enhance road safety enforcement and advertising activities, and focused primarily on drink-driving and speeding. These interventions have resulted in a substantial reduction in alcohol-related road trauma. Subsequently, in 1999, the drinking age was lowered from 20 to 18 years. This paper examines the impacts of these drink-driving interventions. The analysis shows that the CBT programme and the SRSP have contributed to the reduction in alcohol-related crashes in recent years. There is also some evidence that, following the lowering of the drinking age, there has been an increase in drink-driving and subsequent alcohol-related crash involvement for drivers under 18 years.