Alcohol-activated locks that prevent drink-drivers from starting their cars will soon be mandatory for repeat offenders.
Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss confirmed today that anyone convicted of two or more offences within five years will have one of the locks installed in their cars.
Those caught driving with a reading of more than 3.2 times the legal alcohol limit would also have to have one of the devices.
At present, sentences requiring alcohol interlocks are applied to around 100 recidivist drunk drivers a year.
Now that they are mandatory, they could be applied to between 4000 and 5000 people a year.
The driver will cover the costs of the breathalyser device, which is wired into the vehicle's ignition. They may get a Government subsidy.
Any breath-alcohol reading higher than zero will activate the lock.
Foss said interlocks had been shown to reduce reoffending rates by around 60 per cent.
- By Isaac Davison of the New Zealand Herald
