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Action on changes to Blood Alcohol Limit

By / 19 March 2010

Cabinet are seriously deliberating whether or not to decrease the blood alcohol concentration limit for drivers 20 years and over from 0.08 to 0.05, and may make a decision over the next week or two. They are looking for a public signal and if they don’t hear it, they are likely to be swayed by the alcohol industry’s lobbying to maintain the status quo.

A blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.05 is a standard definition of intoxication. So allowing people to drive their cars with a BAC of 0.08 is essentially legally endorsing intoxicated driving. There is overwhelming evidence now that a reduction will save lives and many serious injuries. By reducing the BAC level from 0.08 to 0.05 New Zealand will join many other countries which already have a BAC limit of 0.05 (incl. Australia, Argentina, Italy, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland).

New Zealanders have a very important opportunity right now to make progress on reducing drunken driving. You can help make this happen.

Write an email to the Prime Minister, with a copy to Steven Joyce and your local National MP, telling them you strongly support reducing the BAC limit from 0.08 to 0.05.

John.Key@parliament.govt.nz
Steven.Joyce@parliament.govt.nz
Your.Member@parliament.govt.nz

You don’t have to say anything more, but if you want to, all the better. The New Zealand Drug Foundation’s website will be putting up further background information – http://www.nzdf.org.nz/

This is a rare opportunity to achieve concrete changes to our alcohol laws so let’s take it.

Some Letters to the Editor on this topic over the next week or so would also be very useful.

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This site is run by the Social Justice Commission of the Anglican Church.

We seek to nurture justice spirituality and imagination, and engage in advocacy in all areas of life, overcoming poverty and transforming violence.

We encourage people to think and live “justly”, and emphasise debate and action on local, national and global issues.

Although we are Anglican, our vision isn’t so much about being Anglican. It’s about living justly. Justice is about how you live your life, and being just where we are. Working together, we can all flourish.

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