NSW Police testing more drivers for drugs under ‘efficient’ new process

A man sobbed after he returned a positive result for meth during a roadside drug test in Sydney’s inner west, with a new process allowing NSW Police to test more drivers than ever.

A driver sobbing after testing positive to drugs while behind the wheel is a stark reminder NSW Police is on track to meet its goal of 200,000 roadside drug tests by the end of the year.

It’s all thanks to a new testing method, speeding up the process and allowing officers to conduct more tests than ever before.

Between January and October this year, police have done more than 183,000 roadside drug tests, with more than 18,000 of those returning positive indications to meth, cocaine, ecstasy or cannabis.

Mobile drug tests used to be a laborious process, and involved an initial drug test on the side of the road. In the event of a positive test, a driver was then arrested, and conveyed to the nearest police station for a further sample.

A driver was pulled over and tests positive for cannabis on Wednesday. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

However, in September, a new testing regime was introduced, allowing the entire process to be done on the side of the road in around 15 minutes.

Traffic and Highway Patrol boss Tracy Chapman told the Telegraph the number of drug tests done by the end of the year would surpass the 200,000 mark, as a result of the new process and an “increased focus” on drug driving.

A man cries in the back of a police car after testing positive. Pictures: Sam Ruttyn

“The change in that process for random drug tests is certainly more efficient, and allows us to conduct more tests,” she said.

“That’s because we’re not required to come off the road for a lengthy period of time in order to take someone back to a station.”

The changes have seen the number of tests done this year jump by 30 per cent on last year’s figures, up from the 113,305 between January and October.

On Wednesday morning, The Daily Telegraph was given a first-hand look at the testing process, watching as police conducted a blitz in Sydney’s inner west.

Random Drug Testing in Sydney’s inner west. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Following the police phrase “anywhere, anytime”, officers attached to Leichhardt Highway Patrol stopped dozens of drivers during the midweek morning work rush.

“Our plea to drivers is to have a Plan B, we are out in force, especially over the Christmas period,” Inspector Craig Storey said during the operation.

“It’s concerning the amount of drug detections we are seeing, but we are out in force, anytime you see a police vehicle, they can conduct a random drug or alcohol test.”

A young man was pulled over just off Glebe Point Road, where checks showed he was allegedly driving while suspended. A subsequent roadside drug test then revealed a positive test for cannabis.

A second man driving to a job in his work vehicle was stopped for a random drug test just minutes later in Forest Lodge – where he returned a positive test to meth. The result came as a shock, with the man sobbing as he sat in the back of the police car.

This man tested positive to cannabis. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Both were forced to leave their cars parked on the side of the road, after they were banned from driving for 24 hours.

Their samples were sent to a new specialist lab in North Ryde, dedicated to oral fluid testing. The results will be returned within six weeks.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Chapman said police were “frustrated” by the number of people caught driving with drugs in their system, with cannabis the most commonly detected substance.

This man tested positive for meth and was seen crying afterwards in the back of the police car. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“It’s definitely frustrating that we continue to have people offend in the RDT space, but the biggest message is about understanding the impact that drugs and drug driving can have on not only yourself, but other road users and then the broader community,” she said.

“I think sometimes there’s a misalignment, or people don’t think about what their drug use and does the day after, or the day after that, so they don’t associate their activities with what happens on the road.

“People need to start to think about those links.”