Drug-drivers to automatically lose licences for first offence under crackdown targeting repeat offenders
DRUG-drivers will automatically lose their licences for a first offence in a road-safety blitz also targeting repeat offenders and those caught driving with children while high or drunk.
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DRUG-drivers will automatically lose their licences for a first offence in a road-safety blitz also targeting repeat offenders and those caught driving with children while high or drunk.
Police will also be able to conduct more roadside tests for cannabis, amphetamines and ecstasy as sampling processes are streamlined, while drug-using drivers who flout the law and drive unlicensed after being caught now face going to jail under legislative changes proposed by the State Government.
The new penalties will be the toughest crackdown on drug driving since roadside saliva testing was introduced in SA in 2006.
Rising drug-driver detections — which have tripled between 2010-11 and 2015-16 — and the risks that drug-impaired drivers pose to other road users have prompted the Government’s tough new stance.
The proposed penalties, which will require parliamentary approval, include:
A THREE-MONTH licence disqualification for a first drug-driving offence plus $587 fine and four demerit points. The current penalty does not include a disqualification.
AN INCREASED licence disqualification period for repeat drug-driving offences.
ANY driver detected drug or drink driving with a child aged under 16 in the car will need to undergo a drug or alcohol dependency assessment before a licence will be reissued.
OFFENDERS who have lost their licence for drug-driving and are caught driving unlicensed, will face penalties of up to $5000 or one year in prison and a licence disqualification of no less than three years.
Road Safety Minister Peter Malinauskas will announce the proposed changes today and present the legislation at the next sitting of State Parliament in February.
“Our primary concern is for everyone on the road who is doing the right thing, doesn’t have their lives put at risk by drug drivers,’’ he said.
“If people are using drugs and compromising the safety of others, that is unacceptable and that’s why we have to be harsh.’’
Mr Malinauskas said 22 per cent of drivers or riders killed on the state’s roads between 2011 and 2015 tested positive for methylamphetamine (ice, crystal meth), MDMA (ecstasy), THC (cannabis) or a combination of these drugs.
Latest police figures show a record 5569 drivers returned a positive drug test last financial year — almost as many as the 5817 caught over the 0.05 blood-alcohol limit.
Drink-driving detections have plummeted in recent years, halving from 10,072 a year in 2010-11. Tough penalties and education campaigns are credited with being a factor in the reduction.
Given police test 10 times as many drivers for drinking than using drugs, the rate of drug driving detection is now six times higher than the rate of detection for alcohol.
And more than 50 motorists — including parents with child passengers — have been caught driving with drugs or excessive alcohol in their system near schools during special police operations this year.
Mr Malinauskas said the increase in drug driving was a result of community attitudes and the spread of the illicit drug ice.
“Some ... of the community consider drug driving is not as dangerous as drink driving, which we need to smash through,’’ he said.
“Meth and ice are insidious drugs and we know ... they are a problem.’’
Mr Malinauskas said the new drug driver penalties — which he hoped would take effect “as soon as possible’’ — would be combined with a continuing police focus on enforcement and education campaigns run by the Motor Accident Commission.
“We have had great success in reducing the rates of drink driving, and the Government now aims to mirror this success in the reduction of drug driving,’’ he said.
“What is particularly alarming is the number of adults willing to risk innocent lives by driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol with children in the car.
“This situation is simply unacceptable. From now on we will require drug drivers to prove they are not drug or alcohol dependent before they are allowed back on our roads’’.
Last week Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the more drug drivers who were detected, the less time police had to conduct tests.
Under the proposed changes to legislation, however, the testing procedure will be simplified.
At present, a positive roadside drug test has to be double-checked. This will be reduced to one further test being conducted after a driver tests positive, Mr Malinauskas said.
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