New Zealand’s DUI road risk is changing

A serious problem with driving under the influence is now being seen in New Zealand. For the first time ever, drivers under the influence of drugs have been involved in a greater number of serious crashes than those under the influence of alcohol. As a result, more people were killed as a result of drug use than alcohol use in road crashes in New Zealand during 2017. This worrying fact highlights the problem with illicit drug use in New Zealand. The result of the research into road deaths has been revealed
June 22, 2018 Read time: 2 mins

A serious problem with driving under the influence is now being seen in New Zealand. For the first time ever, drivers under the influence of drugs have been involved in a greater number of serious crashes than those under the influence of alcohol. As a result, more people were killed as a result of drug use than alcohol use in road crashes in New Zealand during 2017. This worrying fact highlights the problem with illicit drug use in New Zealand.

The result of the research into road deaths has been revealed by the Automobile Association (AA), which says that New Zealand police should be equipped with drug testing kits to help address the problem. Kits that use saliva to test for drug use amongst drivers have been employed successfully in some parts of Australia as well as Denmark, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark and the UK for some time and the technology is now well proven. At present New Zealand police have to have strong reason to suspect drug use by drivers and even then, can only carry out tests based on whether a driver is physically capable of walking and turning.

According to the AA, there were 79 fatal road crashes involving drug use by drivers in 2017, compared with 70 fatal crashes involving drivers under the influence of alcohol. This highlights the increasing scale of the issue as in 2016, there were 59 fatal crashes involving drug use by drivers compared with 67 in which drivers were under the influence of alcohol.

The research shows that cannabis and methamphetamine are the most common drugs detected in the case of driving under the influence. The latter drug has seen a particular growth in use in New Zealand in recent years.

The AA is calling for the proven saliva testing kits to be employed in New Zealand and for officers to be able to carry out random testing by the roadside in a bid to tackle the issue more effectively.

Related Content

  • Risk warnings for UK revealed with new data
    May 9, 2013
    New data from the UK reveals key information about road risk factors both across the country and in capital London. A new report reveals that around 68% of pedestrian casualties are adults who are at greatest risk on weekend evenings and after consuming alcohol. Meanwhile another separate study in London reveals that cyclists are not at fault in most crashes in which they are involved.
    Read More
  • Increasing fatality and injury levels on UK’s roads
    September 27, 2012
    Concern has been expressed in the UK over the release of accident statistics for 2011 that reveal an increase in road fatalities over the previous year. This is the first national rise in road deaths and serious injuries in 17 years. In all 1,901 people died on the UK’s roads in 2011, an increase of 3% of the figures for 2010 while those seriously injured rose 2% to 23,122. Interestingly, the number of fatalities fell for three types of road user, with a fall of 22% for bus and coach occupants, 10% for moto
    Read More
  • GHSA: Pedestrian deaths fall for second year
    July 18, 2025
    However, despite overall progress in the US, alarming trends continue for hit-and-run incidents, especially at night and in places where there are no sidewalks, according to the GHSA - Governors Highway Safety Association.
    Read More
  • Netherlands road risk for cyclists
    April 30, 2018
    A change in road risk has been seen in the Netherlands, with more cyclists than drivers being killed on the country’s roads in 2017. The data came from the Dutch statistics bureau, CBS. The research suggests that there are two key factors in this change. Firstly, motor vehicles are generally safer now than in the past, with better crash protection and other safety technologies. Meanwhile an increase in the numbers and performance of electric bicycles and their use by a greater number of older riders is
    Read More

Highlighted Content