Parliament voted today to increase the driving age from 15 to 16 from August 1st. The vote was unanimous which means all MPs voted for it.
The new law also makes it illegal for drivers under 20 to have any alcohol in their blood. Also, anyone who has been found guilty of drinking and driving, cannot drink any alcohol at all for the next three years if they are driving. They will also have a special lock put on their steering wheel. If they have been drinking, the car will not start.
The blood alcohol limit for other adults will stay at 80mg per 100ml. The Green Party and other parties wanted this reduced to 50mg per 100ml but the government wants more research about this first. Most European countries only allow 50mg per 100ml for drivers.
Prison sentences will be doubled for drivers who are drunk, drugged or who drive very dangerously.
The government hopes that this law will reduce road accidents in the future.
Listen to March 3rd 2010 and April 17th 2010 for more about driving in New Zealand.
Questions
What is the blood alcohol limit in your country? Do you have many road crashes in your country? Are they often caused by alcohol? Are road crashes mostly caused by young drivers?