Epidemic strikes tourist town

Judges are talking tough in Queenstown District Court as they deal with "an epidemic" of drink-driving around the Queenstown Lakes District.

They brook no excuses but listen to many as the people who appear, most shame-faced, a few oddly defiant, present often similar stories.

Duty lawyers say their clients had two or three wines over three or four hours and thought they would be fine to drive but somehow were found to be well over the 400mcg limit.

"A lot of people are caught talking a lot of rubbish," Queenstown police Senior Sergeant John Fookes says.

"They are deluding themselves."

The judges have noticed and are threatening tougher sentences, which could include fewer fines and more community work for the worst offenders, who are double and sometimes nearly triple the limit.

On September 7, when sentencing Timothy Frank McKay, a 22-year-old Wanaka mechanic who had recorded a breath-alcohol reading of 1148mcg, Judge Paul Keller handed out a community work sentence rather than a fine.

"That is almost beyond a fine although it is a first offence," Judge Keller said.

"It is almost three times the legal limit."

He told McKay he was lucky to be alive and said he needed to assess his drinking.

"People who drive with that amount either kill themselves, their mates or other innocent road users," Judge Keller said.

Snr Sgt Fookes says most New Zealanders know that if they drink and drive, they are bloody idiots.

"You would have to have been living in a cave for the last 20 years not to have got the message," he says.

"Ninety-nine percent of New Zealanders take a dim view of risking other people's lives."

The remaining 1% are a problem because they are not thinking at all about the danger they are placing themselves, their friends and other members of the public in.

"Tougher sentences are part of the solution," Snr Sgt Fookes says.

Drinking alcohol lessens people's inhibitions and makes them more likely to take risks - and Queenstown's bar culture is part of the reason there are so many drink-drivers caught in the area, Snr Sgt Fookes says.

However, it also reflects the police presence on the roads and Queenstown's awareness of the problem.

"Often the apprehension rate is reflective of the level of enforcement."

Last week 24 suspected drink-drivers were apprehended during a "blitz" co-ordinated between the Alexandra-based Rural Drink Driving Group and Queenstown police.

That contributed to the parade of 15 drink-drivers convicted on Monday by Judge Kevin Phillips who labelled the problem "an epidemic".

Snr Sgt Fookes says there are clearly a lot of people driving on Queenstown's roads when they are over the limit - otherwise they would not be caught.

He is also worried about the number of international visitors being caught drink-driving in Queenstown.

"There are significant numbers of overseas people ... they are not subject to the same messages.

"With people coming in - whether they are short-term or medium-term visitors - it is a bit harder to know how to get through to them."