Victoria Police recently announced on-the-spot fines, starting at $495 for first-time offenders, and immediate driving bans, which will increase from four to 12 hours to 12-24 hours depending on the type of drug detected.
Sergeant Paul Nicoll of Campaspe Highway Patrol said the trial would be welcome in the area, with an average of one drug driver detected every day.
“In August we conducted 129 tests, with 30 being positive. This is a relatively normal monthly figure,” he said.
“By September 9, we had conducted 32 tests with nine positive results.”
At the moment, Sgt Nicoll said people who initially tested positive to drug driving only received an infringement notice, with a loss of licence ban after police received results from a sample that was sent away for analysis.
“When we get the result back some weeks later is when we issue the infringement,” he said.
The TAC reported in the past five years, about 41 per cent of all drivers and motorcyclists killed had drugs in their system and 25 per cent of Victorians who use recreational drugs admit to driving under the influence.
State Member for Northern Victoria Tania Maxwell said the measures would not only help get drug drivers off our roads, but hold offenders accountable.
“People who take illicit drugs need to understand that when they get behind the wheel, they put the lives of others at significant risk,” she said.
“There is great scope for increasing the capacity and targets for police to conduct drug testing, which would further assist in the efforts to remove drug drivers from our roads.”
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