Roadside drug tests ’fraught with issues’ study finds
Experts are calling for a review of roadside drug tests used by Victoria Police after a damning study found they are “fraught with issues” and may be failing to detect some of our worst drug-affected drivers.
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Roadside drug tests used by Victoria Police are “fraught with issues” of inaccuracy in detecting cannabis use, a new study suggests.
Researchers from the University of Sydney reviewed two devices used by police in Victoria and other states and found they frequently failed to detect high concentrations of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
The results showed up to 16 per cent of saliva swab tests returned false negatives, where the person had a high THC concentration but went undetected.
It also revealed up to 10 per cent of tests provided false positives, where saliva THC concentrations were very low or negligible.
The findings come as Victoria Police lobby to ramp up the rate of random drug tests for drivers.
Lead author of the study professor Iain McGregor said it should prompt authorities to review the drug test devices they were using.
“If the breathalysers were failing to get 16 per cent of drunk drivers, you’d have to ask some pretty serious questions of the technology,” he said.
“Our intent is not to give cannabis driving the green light, our intent is to get authorities to lift their game in terms of the technology they’re using.”
He said the concern was in cases where drivers were high on cannabis but were not being picked up.
“Detecting impairment due to cannabis use is an important goal in promoting road safety but using saliva tests to do this appears fraught with issues.
“I acknowledge the difficult job that police do — they see things on the road that no one should ever have to see — but it’s obviously in their interests to have better testing and to engender public confidence in their methods.”
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Stephen Leane said the drug test devices were “emerging technology” and there was “no doubt” authorities around the world were battling to find better technology to get more accurate results.
“That's the reality of where we are in technology in drug testing,” he told Neil Mitchell on 3AW radio.
Mr Leane stressed that Victorian officers used the saliva testing devices as a starting point to determine whether someone was drug-affected or not.
“We don’t rely on the device for evidence for court,” he said.
“This is a screening device the same as a preliminary breath test.
“So we don’t prosecute anybody based on a scan. We actually run two scans — one a preliminary one and a secondary scan, so we check twice before we move forward.”
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He said Victoria was on track to surpass its goal of 150,000 drug tests in 2019, and wants that target increased in the future.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said they were in discussions with the State Government about increasing the number of random drug tests.
“Victoria Police wants to do more roadside drug testing in the future and have the ability to issue on-the-spot infringements. We are currently working with government to review the process and discuss any potential legislative changes. It is not until the review is complete that Victoria Police will know what this potential increase in testing will look like.”
Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed on Tuesday that Cabinet would “soon consider a raft of other reforms and changes” to combat the issue of drug driving.