Drug driving worse than drink driving: Knox highway patrol officers
Frustrated police say a new and menacing type of driver has surged past drunks on Melbourne roads. And the problem is, they look like a normal person.
Outer East
Don't miss out on the headlines from Outer East. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The scourge of drugs is the worst it has ever been on Melbourne’s roads, surpassing the dangers of drink-driving, two veteran highway patrol officers say
Knox highway patrol officers leading senior constables Andrew Jones and Graeme Spurrell have seen a lot of change on the roads over the years, particularly the number of drugged-up drivers
“It’s a cancer on society,” Leading Sen-Constable Jones said.
He estimated half of the drivers drug tested for cannabis, methamphetamines (speed, ice) or ecstasy returned a positive reading.
“We’re checking so many people, and you just think ‘wow, this is really widely spread’.”
“It’s across a wide range of the public,” Leading Sen-Constable Spurrell said.
“It’s one of the biggest challenges in our job.”
They say drug driving has far overtaken the issue of drink-driving, which used to be much worse.
Leading Sen-Constable Spurrell said when they joined the force, blood alcohol readings of 0.2 — four times the legal limit — were common among drivers.
“You’d pull over drivers weaving all over the road,” he said.
“You’d open the door and the driver would just about fall over he was so drunk.
“But we’ve really killed that. That’s a rarity now.”
But Leading Sen-Constable Spurrell said drug taking had the added complexity that drug drivers could look “in control”.
“A drunk driver looks drunk,” he said. “Drug drivers don’t look like that.”
Leading Sen-Constable Spurrell said in 2020 most people chose not to drive if they’d had a bit to drink, but with drugs it was different, because the substances stayed in drivers’ systems for days.
Leading Sen-Constable Jones said he also thought there seemed to be less stigma around taking party drugs these days, which was driving up drug use.
MORE: SAFETY FEARS AS KIDS SOUP BIKES UP WITH MOTORS
CREEP ASSAULTS WESTFIELD KNOX WORKER IN RANDOM SEX ATTACK
FOUR ON THE RUN AFTER HEATHMONT HORROR SMASH
They see frustrating and toxic behaviour, and both officers have been to horrific collisions — more fatalities than they can count, but they stay on the roads because of their passion for reducing road trauma.
“The worst day in our job is going to a big collision and just finding people and bits of car everywhere,” Leading Sen-Constable Jones said.
“Traumatic things like that stay with you,” Leading Sen-Constable Spurrell said.
But they said it was very rewarding to see a drop in the recorded number of roads traumas and collisions.
“There’s days in your life where you feel good about something. Like, that collision, no one was hurt,” Leading Sen-Constable Spurrell said.
It also helps that both officers adore the close knit team they work in.
“It’s been a great ride,” Leading Sen-Constable Spurrell said. “I’ve loved it.”
But expect to see them keeping watch over the roads for sometime yet.