Drivers face tough new laws

MOTORISTS who record a blood alcohol reading over 0.05 will automatically lose their driver’s licence for a minimum of three months from today.

New Victorian drink-driving laws that will see all firsttime drivers with a blood alcohol reading between 0.05 and 0.069 fitted with mandatory alcohol interlocks for at least six months will be the toughest in Australia.

Geelong Highway Patrol Acting Senior Sergeant Peter Radford said drivers needed to remember that drinking and driving did not mix and could lead to serious impairment.

“This new law is going to send a very strong message that drinking and driving is not acceptable,” Sgt Radford said.

“We are constantly conducting random breath tests all the time — on back roads, on main roads.

“Those who are caught drinking and driving will face heavy fines and loss of licence.

“They need to remember that if they return a breath test of 0.1 they can have their vehicle impounded.”

According to Victoria Police data, up to 3000 full licence holders are caught drink-driving with a BAC between 0.05 and 0.069 each year.

Under the new laws, licence suspensions for drivers detected with illicit substances in their system will increase from three to six months, and from six to 12 months for repeat offenders.

All drink and drug-drivers will be required to complete a mandatory behaviour change program to address the underlying causes of their dangerous behaviour.

These changes are part of the $1.1 billion Towards Zero strategy, joint action by the TAC and VicRoads to try to reduce the number of lives lost on our roads to 200 and serious injuries by 15 per cent by 2020