Since 2014, the total number of New Zealanders convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs has declined by 27 percent.
Men factor in the stats considerably more than women, with nearly four out of five convictions for drink driving and/or drugs being men.
The recent NZ Road Safety Week showed that the number of alcohol-related road deaths reduced by nearly 40 percent (from 2023 to 2024).
“New Zealanders strongly support confiscating cars from repeat drink drivers, targeted support programmes for harmful drinkers and alcohol education programmes in schools”, said NZABC Executive Director Virginia Nicholls.
For the past six years, the NZ Alcohol Beverages Council (NZABC) has independently surveyed 1000 Kiwis and found that the support for the following (net harm) reduction measures continues to have significant support:
- Confiscating cars from repeat drink drivers +79 percent (2019: 80 percent)
- Targeted support programmes for harmful drinkers +78 percent (2019: same)
- Alcohol education programmes in schools +70 percent (2019: 72 percent)
- Heavier fines for drunk and disorderly behaviour +59 percent (2019: 56 percent)
- Allow Police to issue spot fines for minor alcohol related offences +55 percent (2019: 36 percent)
- Use alcohol interlocks in cars to reduce drink driving by +54 percent (2021: same)
- Alcohol education programmes in workplaces +44 percent (2022: 54 percent)
Alcohol interlock court-mandated orders have increased from 262 (2015) to 3,972 in 2024. From 2018, alcohol interlock orders became mandatory (with some exceptions) for repeat offences and first offences with very high breath or blood alcohol readings.
“Most of us agree that targeted education and support programmes create a better understanding of responsible drinking – a fact borne out by the fact that 70 percent of the New Zealanders surveyed agreed that such programmes reduce alcohol-related harm”, said Nicholls.
Since 2019, the Tomorrow Project – a social change charity governed by Spirits NZ, NZ Winegrowers and the Brewers Association has funded the Life Education Trust to deliver ‘Smashed’, a theatre-in-education programme for high school students that provides practical information and advice to support better decision making.
Independent research showed the programme was supporting positive changes to youth drinking culture.
The annual NZ Health survey provides information on New Zealanders’ health and wellbeing, and shows that 83.4 percent of New Zealand adults (five out of six of us) are drinking beer, wine and spirits responsibly. This is an increase of 4.7 percentage points over the past four years (78.7 percent in 2019/20).
Hazardous drinking or harmful alcohol consumption among adults over the past four years has declined to 16.6 percent (21.3 percent 2019/20).
The Stats NZ alcohol consumption per capita has also declined by 28.3 percent since 1986.
