Drink driving

On the front cover of the NZ Herald today they have a graphic that shows 100,000 or so convictions for drunk driving, 239 people have been let off.

Somehow a lawyer, and the “decent journalist, trained and skilled” who wrote the article, thought that 200 or so of 100,000 or so is 2%, and not 0.2% that you and I both know it is. A 10x multiplication in the number of people released without conviction.  Read more »

Caesar Michael Williams has today plead guilty to drink driving with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit:

HOWICK Local Board chairman Michael Williams has been convicted of drink-driving after pleading guilty to the charge when appearing in the Auckland District Court today.

The 47-year-old was initially due to appear at a defended hearing in the Manukau District Court on March 1 charged with driving with excess breath alcohol and refusing to accompany a police officer.

His lawyer, Karen Harding, told the court her client’s defence included the fact the incident “ended up being on private property”, and that once that was resolved with police the second charged was dropped.  Read more »

It is all on again in Howick, Michael Williams is refusing to step aside while he faces drink driving charges. The move comes after his attempted putsch against Adele White failed after a large public gathering openly mocked his attempt.

AN ATTEMPT to have Michael Williams take a leave of absence as Howick Local Board chairman while he awaits a court appearance for drink-driving will be made tonight.

Elected member Lucy Schwaner intends to bring up the issue in extraordinary business at the board’s monthly meeting.

“I’ll try and get board support to encourage Michael to take leave of absence,” she says. “Michael has said he remains in the chair at the pleasure of the board. He’s not willing to make a decision either way, so we have to pursue other means.”

Apart from deputy-chair Adele White, who Mr Williams attempted to oust last month, and Ms White’s other supporter David Collings, Ms Schwaner says there has been no mention to her of the drink-driving charge by any of the other members. “It’s as if it doesn’t exist.”  Read more »

Michael Williams is a disgrace, not only did he fail in his attempt to oust Adele White, but he is also before the courts on drink driving and failing to accompany the Police charges.

After his rinsing on Monday night I would have thought he would step down, but he hasn’t.

He did manage to cancel a drinks session though, as David Farrar reveals in a leaked email. He neglected to tell everyone that the urgent incident was his complete embarrassment before the citizens of Howick on monday night.

I do have an idea for him though…he could emigrate…to Ireland…they seem to have laws that are pretty friendly for politicians like him:

Councillors in rural Ireland have come up with a novel way of tackling the problem of drink-driving – make it legal. Read more »

‘the vodka bottle was this big, but its okay, I got through it all before heading home”Or “the vodka bottle was this big, but it’s okay, I got through it all before heading home’

Michael Williams walks into a bar in Howick’s main street a bit worse for wear, and asks for a drink. Sorry says the bartender “but you obviously already had a little to much to drink”. Fuming mad, Williams walks out the front door and walks into the side door. “Can I have a drink please.” “Sorry” the bartender says “but you can’t have a drink here.” Williams walks out and goes in through the back door. “Can I please have a drink.” “Enough!” The bartender screamed “I told You No Drinks!” Williams looks at the bartender closely and exclaimed “Shit! how many bars do you work at?”

Michael Williams idea of a balanced diet is a vodka and cranberry in each hand

Bumper sticker for Michael Williams’ car – “I’m not as think as you drunk I am”

Michael Williams is hauled before the Manukau District Court. The Judge says “I see you’ve been brought here for drinking”. Williams says “ok, lets get started”

Michael Williams has proposed that the latest Howick master plan involves twelve steps

Michael Williams was out drink driving one night and turns up at 2 in the morning on Jami-Lee Ross’ doorstep. “I need a push” says Michael. “No” says Jami-Lee, and goes back to bed. JLRs wife says “That was mean, go back and help him”. Jami-Lee trudges back to the door and says “still need a push?”. Michael shouts out “yeah!”. Jami-Lee says “where are you?”. Michael says “On your swing in the front yard!”

“Boris Williams” – imagine if Howick had nukes!

Gay Marriage forced Michael Williams to drink and drive.

What did Michael Williams say to the cop who asked him to accompany him back to the station?
Why? Aren’t you confident of making it to the station on your own?

What did Michael Williams say to the cop who asked him to accompany him back to the station?
I’d be happy to oblige you with a lift, but it’s only fair to warn you I’ve been drinking

Four months from now, Michael Williams is at a bar having a few when someone yells out “All politicians are arseholes!”. Williams yells back “Hey, I resent that!”. The first man says “Sorry, I didn’t know you were a politician”. Williams yelled back, “actually, now I’m just an arsehole”.

Michael Williams recently had his own street repainted:

The only thing Michael Williams will be allowed to drive for the next six months will be the ride on mowers at Treescape

The Herald on Sunday continues their wonky jihad on drunk driving by attacking the government.

New Zealanders are dying and being seriously injured in crashes that could have been avoided with a lower drink-drive limit.

The Government has refused to move on a lower blood alcohol limit until it has proof it would make a difference – but the whole time that evidence has been available from the Ministry of Transport and Cabinet refuses to consider it.

Statistics obtained by the Herald on Sunday under the Official Information Act show in the last four years 20 people have been killed in road accidents involving drinking drivers just below the legal limit.

Another 281 people have been seriously injured in crashes where a drink-driver was also tested and found to be just under the limit.

That is all well and good, but their hypothesis is flawed. If the stats are as they say..and since they haven’t released them then we can’t know for sure, that these people died with a blood alcohol level of just under the current limit, then they would still be dead if the limit was reduced..except now they would have been over it.

To blame the government for poor decision making and driving skills of drunk drivers is pathetic.

The Herald on Sunday cannot claim that those 20 people would have still been alive if the limit had been lowered.

What is it with retiring cops that they think they can come out and make all sorts of outrageous statements. It isn’t like we care or are going to care what they say 5 minutes after the door shuts on their long careers.

Take John Kelly, he reckons the government has blood on its hands because they wouldn’t lower the drink drive limit.

The Government has blood on its hands for refusing to lower the drink-drive limit, a departing senior road policing boss says.

Superintendent John Kelly, who set up national highway patrols, retired on Thursday after six years overseeing the roads of Auckland’s sprawling Waitemata district and 35 years on the force.

He told the Herald on Sunday that John Key’s National Party ignoring calls for the drink-drive limit to be slashed two years ago was his biggest career frustration. He believed it had potentially contributed to more than 60 road deaths since.

“Between 250 and 300 people are still dying annually on the roads but if we had lowered the drink-drive limit when we could have, there might have been 30 or so of those people still alive every year,” said Kelly.

“The country missed a big trick to significantly reduce the numbers of deaths and injuries on our roads.”

Riiight, I will type slowly because Mr Thicky policeman plod can understand.

If you lower the limit that just makes the drunks more over the limit they were over in the first place. If Mr Kelly had been doing his job properly int he first place they would have been able to produce empirical evidence that there weer a great many people being stopped between 0.05 and 0.08, who weren;t over the limit and then went on and crashed causing injury and death. He didn’t and couldn’t and that is the reason th government decided to investigate and inquire as to what the facts were.

Even on his retirement he is pulling figures out of his well padded and shiny pants covered arse. Good luck with the road safety consultant work…your only customer is the government and you just crapped all over them.

Saint F*cking Robyn Malcolm is a drunk driver, convicted:

Outrageous Fortune star Robyn Malcolm has lost her licence for six months after pleading guilty to drink driving today in the Auckland District Court.

Malcolm, 47, was over the legal limit when stopped for a random breath test at a checkpoint in Hopetoun St, central Auckland, about 10pm on May 19.

A blood test revealed she had a blood alcohol reading of 121mg per 100ml of blood.

The legal blood alcohol limit is 80mg.

Malcolm was also fined $500, plus $132.89 in court costs, $93 in analyst fees and $80 in medical costs.

Judge Sarah Fleming said a discount was made because this was Malcolm’s first conviction and because of her early guilty plea.

Earlier this year, after the incident, the actress made a statement to the Sunday Star Times, describing herself as a “bloody idiot”.

”It was, and is my intention to front up the media about this as I have no interest in hiding what happened,” she said in the statement.

”I had been out for dinner with colleagues on the night in question. I was driving a friend home when I was stopped at a routine checkpoint. I was not speeding or driving in a dangerous manner. I told the police officer that I had been out to dinner, and had drunk wine.

”I deeply regret my lack of judgement and sheer stupidity. I feel like a bloody idiot.”

You are a bloody idiot…now shut up and go away.

What does a local community board chairman, drinking and driving and a Manukau Police cell have in common?

Why hasn’t the board member fessed up?

Has this board member had altercations in the past involving alcohol?

The NZ Herald has run a story about a Mana Party volunteer who crashed his car into a family and is now in hospital in a coma, unlikely to ever recover.

The article raises more questions than it answers.

Awanui is a small place and the street where Hone Harawira lives is even smaller…my sources tell me that the accident occurred less than 1km from his house, where a pre-wedding party was in full swing and had been all day. The article supports the distance being short from the party:

Members of the Harawira family, who were partying at home ahead of a family wedding, ran to help in the aftermath of the accident.

Is it really believable that Joseph “Reti” Nathan was never at Hone’s house during the day. Hone Harawira is adamant that he was “never” at his house….a Mana party activist, in Awanui where a party is being held full of Mana party people and he was “never” there….yet smashed his car just 1km away necessitating Mana party people to run to the scene…not to save Joseph or assist in the rescue of the poor bastards he drove into…no instead they ran to retrieve a flag:

…Mana Party members were waiting at the cordon wanting to retrieve a flag in the back of Nathan’s car but were restrained by police.

So, let’s get this straight…Hone says Nathan wasnt at the party or his house at all yet moments after the accident Mana party people and Hone’s family are running towards the accident…to retrieve a flag…How did they know there was a flag in the car of the person who was never there, or that the person who was never there had been involved in an accident less than 1km from the house he was never at.

My local sources also tell me that the reason this story has taken a month to get out was because of a culture of intimidation. The local media initially ran a story but have been told to remain silent. People are now all singing from the same song sheet in a Kahui style culture of silence.

Which is all in stark contrast from Hone Harawira’s public stance on the evils of alcohol:

Mr Speaker, today is Armistice Day – the day we remember the deaths of soldiers and civilians sacrificed on the altar of war and greed.

And today we also remember the deaths of soldiers and civilians sacrificed on the altar of ignorance, drunkenness, profit, greed, and government’s ongoing unwillingness to put an end to the destruction visited upon our communities by alcohol in all its pernicious and evil forms.

And today we remember the families who bear the scars of lives lost to cirrhosis of the liver, cancer, depression, alcoholism and heart disease, and those families suffering the lasting effects of drunk driving, and alcohol-related falls, drownings, poisoning, assault, injury, and foetal alcohol syndrome.

There is more to this story, and I suspect that the Herald on Sunday has withheld some information because there is now a wall of silence from all involved. Hone Harawira needs to come clean on what happened that day.

Why didn’t someone stop a mate from driving drunk…no legends up North apparently: