By 3 News online staff
The AA says an "embarrassingly small" number of alcohol interlock devices in cars are being used as a result of drink driving court cases, given they have stopped more than 2300 attempts to drive drunk.
The in-car breathalyser stops the vehicles from starting and was introduced as a court sentencing option in 2012.
Figures from the AA shows as at May this year, there had been 2369 attempts made by people with an interlock device to drive with alcohol in their system.
"If not for interlocks there would have been thousands of times that a drunk driver was back out on the road putting lives at risk," motoring affairs general manager Mike Noon says.
In May there were only 270 interlock devices in use in New Zealand.
Of the 12,000 recidivist or high-level drink drivers eligible for the interlock sentence in the first year, around 200 were ordered to have them.
Mr Noon says those numbers are "embarrassingly small" given how effective they are.
"If we are serious about reducing the number of crashes involving alcohol then we need to be using interlocks much, much more."
While most drink drivers have their licences suspended and fined, there is nothing physically stopping them from driving a car again, he says.
A government review is underway for drink driving penalties and the AA wants all first time drink drivers with a high level of alcohol in their system and repeat offenders to be sentenced to an alcohol interlock device. It should also combine with more assessment and treatment of drivers who have alcohol issues.
One New Zealand company selling the products says the devices cost between $150 and $175 per month.
A report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the interlock devices have resulted in a 70 percent reduction in repeat offences while they're installed.
However, only about a fifth of those arrested for drink driving have interlocks installed.
3 News
