Roadside Breath Testing Up; Alcohol-Related Road Deaths Down

Scoop

12-05-2025

Hon Chris Bishop
Minister of Transport
Minister of Police
As Road Safety Week begins, the Government's crackdown on drunk drivers is delivering real results with newly released 2024 statistics showing the number of alcohol-related road deaths reducing by nearly 40%, Transport Minister Chris Bishop and Police Minister Mark Mitchell say.
'Our Government is focused on improving road safety through road policing and enforcement, investment in new and safe roading infrastructure, and targeting the leading contributors to fatal crashes such as drugs and alcohol impairment. That plan – the Road Policing Investment Programme (RPIP) – is seeing some strong results, and we need to keep it up,' Mr Bishop says.
'Police have really stepped up their road policing efforts in the past year. In 2024, Police delivered 4,118,159 passive breath and breath screening tests, the highest number recorded in a calendar year, and smashing their RPIP target of 3.3 million per year.
'Police have also exceeded their target to focus 65% of their breath testing on the highest risk times. In the first nine months of this financial year (July 2024 to March 2025), Police delivered 2,177,179 passive breath and breath screening tests during high or extreme risk alcohol hours. This is 35% above the year-to-date target of 1,608,750 tests, and a 21% increase compared to the first nine months of the previous financial year.
'The whole point of roadside breath testing is to keep New Zealanders safer on the roads – and it's working.
'It's really encouraging to see an almost 40% reduction in the number of road deaths where alcohol was a contributing factor, from 92 alcohol-related road deaths in 2023 down to 57 in 2024.
'In fact, the steep reduction in alcohol-related road deaths led to the 2024 total road toll being the lowest since 2014. Every avoidable road death is a tragedy and there's always more work to do, but this is a big step in the right direction.'
'The reduced number of road deaths in 2024 is also significant given the presence of factors that can drive up the road toll, such as population increases, continued increases in the size of the vehicle fleet and increases in the total vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) across the network.
'Roadside testing for drug driving is also coming soon. Anyone who drives while under the influence of drugs should know that they're putting themselves and other road users at risk – and we're not going to put up with it.
'In March 2025 the Government passed legislation to enable Police to conduct roadside testing for drug impairment, and we expect these tests to start being rolled out later this year.'
'Alcohol and drugs are leading contributors to death and serious injury on our roads, and both random and selective breath testing is proven to discourage people from drinking and driving. Every breath test delivered has the potential to save a life, and you can continue to expect to Police highly visible on our roads,' Mr Mitchell says.
'I'm proud of the work our Police are doing to reduce deaths on our road, keep our communities safe, and ensure everyone can get to where they need to go safely.'
In 2024:
Police conducted 4.1 million roadside breath alcohol tests – the most ever, and about 900,000 more than in 2023.
The number of alcohol-related road fatalities reduced by nearly 40% , from 92 in 2023 to 57 in 2024.
The Road Policing Investment Programme 2024-2027 (RPIP) requires Police to deliver 3.3 million passive breath tests and breath screening tests per year of the programme—an average of 825,000 tests per quarter. This is an increase from the 3 million tests required annually under the previous government's road policing agreement.
In 2024 Police delivered 4,118,159 passive breath and breath screening tests, the highest number of tests recorded in a calendar year.
In the first nine months of this financial year (July 2024 to March 2025) Police delivered 3,286,094 passive breath and breath screening tests, 33% above the year-to-date target of 2,475,000 tests. It is also a 20% increase in tests compared to the first nine months of the previous financial year.
The RPIP sets a target of 2,145,000 alcohol breath tests to be conducted during high and extreme risk alcohol times—an average of 536,250 tests per quarter. This directs the greatest proportion of testing to the times and days when alcohol related harm has historically been highest, while still allowing a portion of testing across the rest of the week to ensure an 'anywhere, anytime' approach.
In 2024, there were 113 deaths (38% of all deaths) where a driver tested above the alcohol limit (or test refused) and/or tested positive for drugs.
87 deaths were where a driver tested positive for drugs,
47 deaths were where a driver tested above the alcohol limit (or test refused),
21 deaths were where a driver tested both positive for drugs and above the alcohol limit (or test refused).