John Williamson: It’s time we took a bold approach to roadside drug testing

In Australia, roadside tests by police only take two minutes and Queensland police conduct 50,000 a year, with a one-in-four hit rate.

OPINION

We’ve been away for a bit, spending the kids’ inheritance on a delayed cruise around Australia. This wasn’t our first choice but it became an appropriate way to use up Covid-generated cruise credits before they expired.

This was not just brain-rejuvenating relaxation, but also an opportunity to think through the just-announced news that NZ Police were not going to be able to do random roadside testing for drugged drivers. That possibility has been in the melting pot for over a decade now, as New Zealand grappled with preventing the 100 road deaths per year caused by drugged drivers. The legislation was passed last year for implementation on March 11 this year.

The accompanying press statement from the then Ministers of Police and Transport included the following: “Our Government is committed to reducing the serious harm that comes from driving under the influence of drugs. In both 2020 and 2019 over 100 people were killed in crashes where the driver was found to have drugs in their system. This legislation directly addresses these preventable crashes and will lead to safer roads for all,” Michael Wood said.

An impressive expectation indeed, with the police finally having the tools to deal with drugged drivers as they do in Australia. The road safety community had been kept informed. We were told the appropriate training was being done and that 30,000 testing kits as an initial run had been ordered. That obviously wasn’t going to be enough. Then a week before implementation, on March 3, we had the announcement that random, saliva-based roadside drug testing would not proceed because “an appropriate device could not be found as the technology required did not exist”. That just beggars belief.

It’s an incredible blow to the credibility of the legislation, gives a pretty hollow ring to the previous minister’s announcement and seems to show a complete lack of commitment to improving our behaviour-based road safety, and the “Road to Zero” strategy.

The mind boggles that we can’t find an appropriate testing device when Australia has been successfully saliva-based testing since 2004. The Aussies have the largest roadside drug screening and testing programme in the world. It’s based on high-visibility and high-volume roadside testing, which creates a roadside environment that ensures drugged drivers have a high chance of being caught.

Australian legislators are not being timid. They continue to refine and reconfirm their approach. Roadside tests now only take two minutes and Queensland police, for instance, conduct 50,000 tests a year, with a one-in-four hit rate. They only test for illegal substances- THC (cannabis), methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy). Alcohol is a separate breath test. The question of impairment, which seems to confound some New Zealand professionals, isn’t an issue. It’s the illegal substances that count and prescription medications aren’t in play.

Australian legislators are also recognising that medicinal cannabis legally prescribed for pain relief can cause users to be anxious about driving. Prospective legislation expects to identify the presence of a prescription, as a basis for legal driving in a different issue.

Recent research by Monash University identified that: “The increase in roadside drug tests in Victoria from 42,000 in 2013 (1 per cent of drivers), to 100,000 in 2018 (2.2 per cent of drivers) is estimated to have saved 33 fatal crashes (13.7 per cent reduction) and 80 serious crashes per year. Further expansion of testing is warranted based on economic criteria.”

Australia has a road fatality rate of five per 100,000 population, whereas New Zealand’s is seven per 100,000. When we are 40 per cent worse than Australia in any road safety index then we need to ask some serious questions. To date, there has been no obvious explanation about why New Zealand cannot identify an appropriate test device, unless it’s to find a single test for every one of the 25 identified driving-impairing drugs, most of which are legally prescribed - and that is just ridiculous.

It’s well past time that we took a committed, bold approach and seriously went after those drivers who break the law with the drugs they consume.