Let’s get tough on drug drivers
VICTORIA’S police union bosses have backed a retired Geelong officer’s call to harden drug-driving penalties as part of sweeping reforms tabled yesterday.
Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said the union was calling for drug testing to be simplified, scrapping the need for a secondary laboratory test, which would also slash the price of the costly tests.
He said the association was also calling for roadside drug test kits to be rolled out into all police vehicles and for police to have increased powers to take drug drivers off the road immediately, rather than waiting for the results of secondary testing.
“We do call on, in this document, simplifying the testing process so police don’t have to do a secondary laboratory test and be able to take immediate action the same way they do for drink- drivers,” Mr Gatt said. “This testing is not cheap and what it does is delay the justice process.
“That’s a risk to us all while the impaired driver continues driving.”
Last month, veteran highway patrol officer Shane Coles blew the whistle on the true extent of carnage being caused by drug-drivers on Geelong roads.
The outgoing senior sergeant revealed that more than half of the crashes in the Geelong region police division involved impaired drivers, with one in six drivers drugtested returning positive readings.
On the eve of his retirement after 44 years, Mr Coles criticised the $476 fine for drug-driving, which is much less than the almost $800 public cost of the full testing process.
He also highlighted that drink-drivers lose their licence for twice the length of time than drug-drivers.
Mr Coles said Victoria must urgently get tougher on drugdrivers before more people were killed on the roads.
Mr Gatt said road policing was a particular challenge for Victoria Police because of officers’ increased workload.
The calls came as part of the police union’s policing priorities 2017-2022 release.
“Drugs are a contributing factor for road deaths,” Mr Gatt said.
“We changed the culture of drink-drivers in Victoria ... so too exists the challenge to do this with drug use.
“This will only, in our view, be achieved with equal screening commitments on our roads.”
Between June and September, 122 drivers tested positive to methamphetamine (ice) or cannabis while travelling on the Greater Geelong region’s roads.