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Sunday, May 2, 2010

Report of Further Information on the Proposal to Lower the Adult Drink Drive Limit to BAC 0.05



This paper provides further information on the proposal to lower the legal adult Blood Alcohol Content or Conecentration1 (BAC) from BAC 0.08 to BAC 0.05. The proposal is one of the first actions that Cabinet will consider as part of the Safer Journeys strategy.The key decision that will be
made is whether the adult drink drive limit should be lowered to BAC 0.05 or whether further research is required.

The key points that emerge from the available evidence are that:

  • there are nearly 300 studies that look at the impairment effects of alcohol at different levels of BAC. This research concludes that impairment starts at very low BACs and the vast majority of drivers are affected or impaired at BAC of 0.05 with significant impairment at BAC 0.08

  • each year adult drivers with a BAC between 0.05 and 0.08 are responsible for at least 7 deaths, 45 serious injuries, and 102 minor injuries. This is a social cost of $56.5 million

  • Australian and Danish experience suggests that one of the key strengths of a limit of BAC 0.05 is its ability to reduce the number of drivers with very high blood alcohol levels (e.g. BAC 0.1 and above). This is important, as if we could reduce the number of drivers with very high blood alcohol levels, we would make a substantial impact on the number of alcohol related deaths and serious injuries

  • a limit of BAC 0.05 requires people to make responsible decisions (ie to either stop drinking before they reach the limit, or to not drive) when they are still able to. People close to the higher BAC 0.08 limit are less able to do this

  • a limit of BAC 0.08 is out of line with the level of risk most New Zealanders would consider to be acceptable among drivers. When New Zealanders are asked what limit should be placed on the number of standard drinks before driving 85 percent of people favour a limit equivalent to BAC 0.05 or lower. Only 2 percent favour a limit equivalent to BAC 0.08

  • lowering the adult limit to BAC 0.05 is estimated to save between 15 and 33 lives and prevent 320 to 686 injuries every year. This corresponds to an estimated annual social cost saving of between $111 million and $238 million.


Read Full Report (PDF)


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