Police to ramp up drug driving tests after weekend blitz leads to arrests
One of the Territory’s top cops has said drug driving is overtaking alcohol as a cause for road tragedies, promising more resourcing after a safety blitz for a major festival.
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A weekend police blitz for a major music festival saw nearly 10 per cent of drug-tested drivers return positive results, a “disgraceful” result according to a top cop.
Police carried out a public safety operation for Saturday’s BASSINTHEGRASS festival, patrolling the Mindil Beach event grounds and randomly testing more than 2300 drivers for drugs and alcohol across greater Darwin.
Speaking to the media, NT Police Assistant Commissioner Matthew Hollamby said three people were arrested at the festival for “disorderly behaviour-related matters” but nearly all of the 13,500 attendees were “quite well-behaved”.
However, 10 drivers were found with drugs in their system out of 135 tests, while 34 people blew over the limit.
Overall, five motorists were arrested and thirteen summonsed to court on DUI charges.
Commissioner Hollamby said “the more drivers we test for drug driving, the worse the results that we’re receiving” and that police would ramp up testing over the coming year.
“Drug driving is an emerging issue in this country and our police uptake in this field is going to increase exponentially in the coming year,” he said.
“It really is a priority area where we need to pay significant attention. We are aware people are dying on the roads because of drug driving, and in some southern jurisdictions it has overtaken drink driving as a causal factor in fatal crashes.”
Twenty-two people have died on Territory roads so far this year compared to just four at this time in 2023.
Commissioner Hollamby pleaded with drivers to exercise care behind the wheel.
“That’s 22 families that will never be the same and we urge people to take care on our roads,” he said.
BASSINTHEGRASS has drawn up to 16,000 festival-goers in previous years but organisers have yet to release the 2024 official crowd figures.
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