Men in their 40s are New Zealand's worst repeat drink drivers and experts say it is because they are prepared to take risks.
Of the almost 6000 drivers who faced three or more drink driving charge to December 1 last year, 5042 were men and most of them were in the 41-45 age bracket, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Only 913 of the 5995 people caught at least three times while driving under the influence of alcohol were women, according to statistics released to the newspaper under the Official Information Act.
Canterbury, with 722 drivers, and the Bay of Plenty, with 615, were the regions with the highest number of offenders.
The number of repeat drunk drivers had dropped by about 14 per cent since 2008.
Criminologist Greg Newbold told the Herald the figures were lower for women because they were more likely to be law abiding.
"It's the greater propensity for men to challenge authority and to take risks that leads to them being more likely to take risks in driving and to challenge the authority of the law. Taking risks, being defiant. It's a 'man' thing," he said.
Addiction was also to blame, according to psychologist Nathan Gaunt.
"They might be unable to give up and need treatment," he told the paper.
NZN