Drug-drive blitz focus

Push on to boost roadside testing

A RISE in the number of motorists driving while under the influence of illicit drugs has prompted the establishment of a national working group tasked with rolling out more roadside drug testing.

A Federal Government report into roadside drug testing was released in Hobart yesterday at a meeting of state and federal transport ministers.

The focus on “drug-driving” follows the success of long-running campaigns to tackle drink-driving and a spike in road fatalities.

Federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Darren Chester said drug impairment was becoming a problem on roads.

“We are seeing more drug- impaired drivers than ever before,” Mr Chester said.

“People seem to have got the message about excessive consumption of alcohol and are separating that from their driving activities but we are seeing increases in methamphetamines and marijuana in roadside drug testing.

“It’s becoming more of an issue and presenting more frequently in serious injury and fatality data.”

Releasing the Roadside Drug Testing Scoping Study, he said the aim of the study and working group would be to determine how to roll out more roadside drug testing.

One of the impediments to roadside drug testing is the expense, compared with tests for drink-driving.

Mr Chester said the chal- lenge of making the testing less expensive and more efficient was a key focus of the work.

It is hoped increased testing will act as a deterrent and address the road toll, which has risen in recent years across Australia.

“There’s a concern that after decades of improvements in reducing road trauma, over the past couple of years we have seen a spike in death and serious injuries — particularly in our regional areas,” Mr Chester said.

So far this year there have been 31 fatal crashes on Tasmania’s roads, which is slightly above the five-year average over the same period of 27.

Tasmania Police assistant commissioner Glenn Frame said drugs and alcohol were contributing factors in 26 per cent of serious and fatal road crashes over the past decade.

Assistant commissioner Frame said there were 3725 oral fluid tests in the last financial year, testing for drugs including cannabis, amphetamines, methamphetamines, cocaine and opiates.

“People who choose to drive while under the influence of illicit substances con- tinue to be a concern, and Tasmania Police is committed to keeping our roads safe through focused enforcement activity on drink and drugdriving,” he said.

The issue was the key discussion point at the meeting of transport and road safety ministers and police commissioners at yesterday’s Transport and Infrastructure Council meeting in Hobart.

Federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher, who also attended the meeting, said the Federal Government was still interested in a Hobart City Deal.

“The Prime Minister [Malcolm Turnbull] has obviously spoken about it on a number of occasions so it’s very much on his radar screen,” Mr Fletcher said.