Up to 72 lives a year could be saved on New Zealand's roads if the legal blood-alcohol limit for drivers was reduced to 50mg per 100ml of blood, a group pushing for the change says.
The Point Zero Five Group was established in Auckland this year.
It has asked councils, including the Dunedin City Council, to support a reduction in breath- and blood-alcohol limits to save lives on the roads.
It has the support of police, Alcohol Healthwatch, Brain Injury Association, public health professionals, road safety co-ordinators, Students Against Driving Drunk and injury treatment professionals.
The group wants the present legal limit for drivers of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood and 400mcg per litre of breath, reduced to 50mg and 250mcg, respectively.
The youth levels have not been considered yet but they could go from 30mg for blood readings and 150mcg for breath, to zero.
A full meeting of the DCC on Monday decided to send a report on the plan to the planning and environment committee for consideration.
Councils in the Auckland region, with the exception of Manakau City, have supported the idea, as have Christchurch and Waimakariri.
A report prepared by council community road safety adviser Henriette Rawlings, with the backing of the Dunedin Road Safety Partners Group, recommends the council support the group and sign a letter to be taken to Parliament.
In Germany, the number of alcohol-related crashes had more than halved and in France had declined by 30% since the limit was reduced to 50mg.
By taking similar action New Zealand could expect to save between 14 and 72 lives each year, Ms Rawlings said.
The reduction of the blood-alcohol level was a key recommendation made by Jean Breen, an international road safety expert based in Britain, in a report to the Minister of Transport, she said.
The report said there were insufficient new interventions in New Zealand to combat drink-driving and the reduction of the blood-alcohol level, regarded as international best practice, was the only drink-driving measure not yet implemented.
"The current level, 0.08, is far too high. It gives people a licence to drive drunk. Often even people who are below the limit when they are stopped are unfit to drive," she said.
Interventions to lower the death rate from alcohol-related crashes had reached a plateau and reducing the blood-alcohol level was deemed to be the most effective measure.
Southern region road policing manager Inspector Andrew Burns said reducing the levels would bring New Zealand into line with other developed countries.
Australia and most European countries had a level of 50mg.
Ireland was looking at reducing its level from 80mg next year, while the rest of the UK was under increasing pressure from Europe to lower its levels.
Insp Burns said, at the present level, people, when pulled over by police, were showing clear signs of intoxication such as slurred speech and not being able to walk straight.
