Let’s tackle the toll

TODAY the Sunday Herald Sun launches a new campaign, Tackle the Toll, to save Victorian lives.

Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer says change is needed to slow death rate.

TODAY the Sunday Herald Sun launches a new campaign, Tackle the Toll, to save Victorian lives.

Our aim is to bring down our soaring road toll, to do all we can to stop this senseless waste of life.

For the past two years Victoria’s road toll has risen since hitting a historic low of 2013 when 243 lives were lost. Today we are sadly on track for a third straight rise in this appalling catalogue of broken lives, with 300 people expected to be taken by year’s end.

The 2016 toll currently stands at 261, already 33 more than at the same time last year.

Central to our campaign today are revelations of the growing killer on our roads — drugs.

For the past three years drug-drivers have outstripped drunks as the biggest menace on our roads after speeding.

Barely a day goes by without reports of horrific crashes involving drug-affected drivers.

Victoria Police data shows that last year 45 drivers involved in fatal crashes had illicit drugs in their system, up from 32 in 2014. Those who died with alcohol in their system numbered 26 last year and 22 in 2014.

And it is that disgusting drug ice that is now the most common illicit drug detected in fatal crashes.

Alarmingly, in the past financial year 8536 people were caught behind the wheel with illicit drugs in their system. That is one in 12 drivers checked in roadside drug tests.

These appalling figures demand action. And they demand change.

And the first step towards reversing this tragic trend, to save lives, is to change the law — to make repeat drug-drivers go to jail

As we outline today, the law is soft on drug-drivers because, unlike drink-drivers, drug-drivers cannot be jailed, no matter how many times they are caught with drugs in their system.

Under current laws, repeat drink-drivers can be locked up for up to 18 months, depending on their alcohol level, and have their vehicle impounded for 30 days.

We need the law changed so these penalties also apply to repeat drug-drivers.

We could not agree more with Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Doug Fryer, who tells us change is needed to help slow the rate of death on our roads.

“We have an absolute problem with drugs and driving,” Mr Fryer said.

“We have 60 homicides in Victoria and the community is outraged and shocked with that violent loss of life but we don’t see that same community outrage with 261 lives we lose on our roads.”

TAC chief executive officer Joe Calafiore is also right when he tells us the number of drug-drivers on our road is “bloody frightening”.

“Drug-driving is a real significant concern. If it’s legislative, investment or resources, we will throw the kitchen sink at it,” he said.

Today we call on the State Government to do all it can to join our campaign to bring down the toll of drugs on our roads, to change the law and look at what more can be done.

We understand the concerns of Roads Minister Luke Donnellan, who says any law change needs to be “bulletproof” to avoid challenges if it went to court.

We hear his view that there are challenges with ensuring tests accurately predict when someone ingests a drug to determine whether they were driving under its influence at the time of testing.

Yes, drug tests should be as accurate as possible, but where the only doubt is about when a drug was ingested, not if it was taken, the system should err on the side of protecting innocent road users who are too often the victims of drug-drivers.

If you take an illegal substance and then get behind the wheel — and do so repeatedly — you deserve to serve jail time every bit as much as habitual drink-drivers.

Magistrates have repeatedly voiced frustration at being unable to sentence dangerous drug-drivers to a term of imprisonment as they can drivers repeatedly caught over the .05 alcohol limit at random breath tests.

In 2014 magistrate Ian von Einem said: “It surprises me that a person can drive with drugs in their system time after time and not be eligible for a jail sentence.”

As we head towards the Christmas season and the end of 2016, we cannot allow any more time to be lost, any more lives to be taken, because of inaction over this massive legal loophole.

We must have this law changed. We must do more to stop the use of drugs on our roads. We must bring down this toll.