Police defend testing bikers

Police have defended their actions after targeting bikers at the March Hare motorcycle rally on the weekend.

More than 2000 motorcyclists were stopped and breathtested by police at the gates to the Waimate showgrounds on Sunday morning. Of the 2009 bikers breathtested, five returned excess breath alcohol limits.

Waimate March Hare Motorcycle Club president Craig Rowley said he was disappointed with police actions. Police had caused a bottleneck in the road outside the venue as every motorcyclist was stopped, he said.

Riders had been refused the option of breath testing by police before they left the showgrounds and organisers were not given breath testing equipment after they requested it before the rally.

Inspector Al Stewart of the Canterbury road policing unit defended police actions outside the event.

"I don't think anyone was targeted over the weekend.

"We are trying to get the Traffic Alcohol Group [TAG] into South Canterbury more this year as a deterrent to all drink drivers. It may have been that the TAG supervisor became aware of a large number of drivers leaving a location and set up accordingly, but that's standard."

Mr Stewart said there were some "real" issues surrounding police refusal to breath test people before they drove.

"Alcohol can take time to work its way through your system as your legal levels are not a static state. The danger is that police test you when asked and you blow under, then jump into your vehicle or on to your motorbike only to be stopped 20 minutes down the road and tested again, and fail.

"There is no safe way for us to test a driver who has recently consumed alcohol to assure them they are safe to drive," Mr Stewart said.

- © Fairfax NZ News