Police were shocked to find a driver they pulled over for driving erratically on Kamo Rd was only 14, four months' pregnant and allegedly nearly six times over the alcohol limit.
Whangarei police Acting Sergeant Kevin Crawford said the girl was stopped after her driving caught police attention on Tuesday evening.
She gave a false name and had difficulty spelling it. She was forbidden to drive and taken to Whangarei police station, where she recorded a breath- alcohol level of 828mcg. The legal limit for drivers under 20 is 150mcg and driving licences are not issued to people under 15.
The girl will be referred to Youth Aid, Mr Crawford said.
Keeping Stock sincerely hopes that a referral to Youth Aid will not be the only outcome in this case. This girl's blood alcohol level was not only six times the legal level for under 20's, but was more than TWICE the adult limit. This girl was seriously pissed! We don't even want to contemplate the potential for harm to the girl's unborn child. In the course of our work, we provide ECE to several children suffering from the effects of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, ranging from mild to severe, and it's not pretty.
We don't for one moment profess to have answers for the malaise which affects New Zealand which goes by the name of teenage binge drinking. But we know two things for sure - it's a real problem, and it's getting worse. We find that frightening.
5 comments:
The drinking age should never have been lowered. I do not care what anyone thinks or says.
Only issue Jim Anderton and I would ever agree on.
smttc,
This girl, at 14, has had sex and driven a car. I doubt it would make any difference to her what the drinking age is or was.
In NZ, the drinking age is not a drinking age as such, but an age at which to buy alcohol.
Am I correct in thinking that in the US the drinking age is in fact a drinking age in that you cannot drink at all until that age?
Anonymous
When it comes to access to alcohol, it is all about expectations.
You make the legal purchasing age 20, expectations (as in my time) would be that you could buy it at 18.
You make the legal purchasing age 18 and you send a message to 12 to 14 year olds that anything is possible.
So there is a high likelihood that baby will be born underdevelopedd, antisocial and criminally minded too. Best start saving now, because someone will have to finance it's life.
Will National put the drining age back up? I always thoguht it was Labour that lowered it, and was quite shocked to learn that Jenny Shipley voted for the lowering of the drinking age while Helen Clark voted against, something I definately am with Helen on!
Post a Comment