SA Police scale back driver drug and alcohol testing amid escalating fears of coronavirus

Random driver drug and alcohol testing stations will be suspended by South Australian police as efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 escalate.

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Random driver drug and alcohol testing stations will be suspended by South Australian police because of the coronavirus.

The move follows similar measures introduced interstate, where police are now relying on mobile patrols to catch drivers affected by alcohol and drugs.

The officer in charge of traffic policing, Assistant Commissioner Ian Parrott, said the priority was to balance road safety with the health risks associated with COVID-19 for police officers and the broader community.

“Mobile random breath testing will continue to be used as a legitimate and safe method to continue to enforce road safety and provide our operational members with the confidence to do so,” he said.

Mr Parrott said alcohol and drugs contributed to 19 fatalities on South Australian roads in 2019.

“South Australia Police will continue to enforce drink and drug driving using mobile random testing,” he said.

“If you drink or take drugs and drive, you can be caught anywhere, anytime.”

SA Police Association president Mark Carroll told The Advertiser: “We had been in discussions with the Police Commissioner about this and we support this decision.”

The police force has been monitoring the evolving COVID-19 crisis and held a meeting on Tuesday to determine whether driver testing would continue.

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Western Australia, Victoria Queensland’s police forces grounded their fleet of booze buses on Monday amid contamination fears, but mobile units will still conduct preliminary tests of drivers suspected to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

In NSW, officers are able to use their own discretion when setting up random breath and drug testing stations.

A NSW Police statement said: “The Police Commissioner, in consultation with the Minister for Emergency Services, has determined police officers may decide it is not reasonable to undertake stationary RBT and RDT in the current climate”.

SA Government figures show that 59 motorists died and a further 197 were seriously injured in crashes where they recorded a blood-alcohol level above 0.05 between 2014 and 2018.