New laws introduced by the state government will see severe consequences for drug drivers

SA police have been granted new powers to immediately suspend the licences of “selfish” drug drivers.

The government will introduce new police powers from Monday that will see a crack down on dangerous driving.

Drivers will now be slapped with an immediate loss of licence (ILOL) if caught with drugs in their system.

New data released by police show that 20% of those killed on South Australian roads last year had prescribed drugs – including MDMA, methylamphetamine and cannabis – in their system.

Police assistant commissioner Ian Parrott said last year over five and a half thousand people were caught drug driving.

“We certainly hope this (the new laws) is a significant deterrent for people,” he said.

“These changes send a hard and clear message that reckless driving and those who choose to drive with drugs in their system are making a very dangerous decision.”

Assistant police commissioner Ian Parrott and minister Joe Szakacs discussing road safety laws at a press conference on Saturday.

Mr Parrott said the laws focus on giving police the right amount of power to “immediately remove” drivers from roads and assist police to save lives.

Joe Szakacs, minister for police, said these laws will give police the power to keep the state’s roads safe.

“As a government we are committed to giving police all the tools and all the laws they need to ensure that people doing the wrong thing on our roads are caught and penalised,” he said.

“The truth is, if you’re taking drugs and driving (or) driving recklessly and dangerously, you’re selfish – it’s a self centred act,” he said.

“If you’re doing these things you’ve got absolutely no sympathy from the government.

“The consequences are very real.”

Police will crack down on dangerous drivers in the wake of new laws being introduced by the government. Picture: Keryn Stevens

The new laws also give police the power to issue an ILOL to anyone who refuses a drink or drug test and drives dangerously or recklessly.

The maximum fine will be raised to $5,000 for first offences of excessive speeding – where someone exceeds the maximum speed limit by at least 45km/h.

Drivers found driving while suspended or disqualified will now be at risk of being jailed for up to 12 months, a considerable jump from the previous sentence of 6 months.

Those convicted of a subsequent offence will also face jail time of up to three years, which has risen from the previous jail time of two years.

This comes as 18 lives have been lost on South Australian roads so far this year in comparison to 4 at the same time last year.

Mr Parrott said this year’s road toll is the worst start to a year in 10 years.

“It’s an absolute disastrous start to 2023,” he said.