NSW drug drivers increase significantly in past decade

Astonishing new figures show a major increase in the number of drug drivers nabbed by police in NSW., with two key reasons why.

Drug driving has exploded over the past decade, with new crime statistics revealing a substantial rise in the number of people busted by NSW Police.

Figures released today by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics reveal 13,815 people were proceeded against by NSW Police for drug driving.

This was a significant increase of 836 per cent, from just 1409 people in 2014.

Earlier this year, The Daily Telegraph revealed statistics from Transport for NSW showing that around 24 per cent of the state’s road fatalities each year, equating to around 79 lives lost, involve a driver with the presence of illegal drugs in their system.

Roadside drug tests can detect the presence of cannabis, MDMA, cocaine and methamphetamine, and in NSW ice and cannabis return the majority of positive results.

The BOCSAR research identified the expansion of mobile drug testing in NSW and a recent increase in the detection of recidivist drug drivers as the two primary reasons for the significant increase.

Drug driving has exploded over the past decade.

Roadside drug tests can detect the presence of cannabis, MDMA, cocaine and methamphetamine. Photo: NSW Police

Two expansions of the Mobile Drug Testing program substantially increased testing volumes from around 20,000 to 156,000 a year.

More recently, police specifically targeting repeat drug driving offenders resulted in an increase in the detection rate from two to three per cent to more than 10 per cent.

The study did not find the increase in drug driving charges was driven by changes in drug use or drug driving behaviours.

BOCSAR executive director Jackie Fitzgerald said the study provided evidence that police continue to prioritise the safety of motorists. “However, despite the NSW MDT program being one of the largest roadside drug testing programs in Australia, the volume of tests is still small relative to the number of registered drivers,” she said.

Mobile drug testing was introduced in NSW in 2007, along with a suite of additional drug driving offences.

The legislative changes increased NSW Police’s capacity to identify and proceed against drug drivers, as previously offenders could only be charged based on a subjective assessment of a driver’s intoxication.

Mobile drug testing was introduced in NSW in 2007.

The Mobile Drug Testing is now one of Australia’s largest programs of its kind.

The new figures come as multiple police area commands across swathes of Sydney have been unable to conduct random breath testing for drink drivers due to chronic staff shortages, despite soaring deaths attributed to drink driving.

The Daily Telegraph yesterday revealed multiple commands have had to forgo RBTs recently, including during high-risk periods such as long weekends and Friday and Saturday nights, because frontline police cannot otherwise respond to urgent calls.

In 2023, 59 people lost their lives due to alcohol-related crashes, up from 36 people involved in drink driving fatalities the previous year.

In the same year, 3.5 million people were breath tested, a drop of 300,000 on the previous year.

HIGH PROFILE DRUG DRIVERS

Former NRL player Sam Burgess pleaded guilty in May 2021 to driving with traces of cocaine in his system. He also admitted to driving without a valid licence. He was not convicted but was fined $1162.

Troubled television host Andrew O’Keefe pleaded guilty to driving with traces of methamphetamine in his system in December 2023.

Former NRL player Sam Burgess pleaded guilty in 2021 to driving with traces of cocaine in his system.

Troubled television host Andrew O’Keefe pleaded guilty to driving with traces of methamphetamine in his system last year.

He was not convicted and received a 12-month conditional release order.

Sydney make-up artist to the stars Rochelle Spotswood pleaded guilty to mid-range drink driving with drugs in her oral fluid in May 2023 after she nearly had a head-on collision with police while almost three times the legal alcohol limit and with cocaine in her system. Spotswood was fined $1500, suspended from driving for four months and ordered to have an interlock licence for 12 months.