The AA is welcoming a big step forward today towards Police being able to conduct roadside saliva tests on drivers for drugs.
Legislation to allow Police to use testing devices for drugs passed its third and final reading in Parliament this morning. The next step will be for Police to select the particular devices they will use.
“The AA has been calling for these devices for a long time as part of stronger measures to deter people from driving drugged,” says AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen (pictured above)
“Knowing that Police will soon have simple roadside saliva tests in their toolkit will hopefully make some people think twice and change their behaviour behind the wheel, making our roads safer. We hope roadside testing will begin later this year.”
Recently, more than 100 road deaths a year have involved a driver subsequently found to have drugs in their system.
“Both illegal drugs and some prescription medications can affect people’s focus, reaction times, and have other impacts that can make someone unsafe to be in control of a vehicle,” says Dylan.
“Roadside saliva tests have been used in Australia and Europe for years – it’s about time New Zealand introduced them too.
“Close to half of road deaths in New Zealand involve people impaired by alcohol, drugs or both. The Police have dramatically increased alcohol testing recently and the AA sees adding roadside drug testing as another way to turn the tide on impaired driving,” says Dylan.
“Right now many people think the chances of being caught driving drugged are slim. Introducing testing can help change this perspective to prevent drugged driving in the first place as well as stopping drivers who are impaired.”
“Some people have expressed concerns about being unjustifiably inconvenienced by the length of time drug tests take compared to alcohol, or highlighted concerns about their accuracy. Because of the high number of deaths and injuries involving impaired drivers on our roads, the AA believes the benefits of having these tests outweigh arguments against them.”
The new law will mean if a driver returns a positive result with their first test, they will then have to do a second test for confirmation. If both tests are positive they will be banned from driving for 12-hours. A laboratory will then analyse a sample to measure specific levels in their system and if those are over the legal threshold the driver will get a fine of $200-$400 and demerit points on their licence. Drivers can request an independent laboratory test of their sample and there will be a medical defence for anyone using medications as prescribed.
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