One in 100 of the drivers tested by Victoria Police’s world-first drug bus has returned a positive result for driving while under the influence of drugs, The Sunday Age believes.
This is 2 times the rate for drivers returning a positive result for driving while under the influence of alcohol when breath tested.
Police had planned to announce the staggering results for the drug bus last week, but delayed doing so because of the Bracks Government’s ministerial reshuffle, which saw Tim Holding elevated to the Police Minister’s portfolio and Andre Haermeyer relegated to Manufacturing, Export and Small Business.
The announcement, now expected to be made within days, is likely to show that more than one in every 100 drivers drug tested by police returned a positive result after laboratory analysis.
The yearly average strike rate for motorists caught drink-driving is about one in every 250 tested.
In one operation alone, targeting the Summerdayze dance festival on January 1, police sources said almost one in 10 drivers tested returned initial positive results.
Sources have told The Sunday Age that about 1500 motorists have already been tested under the drug-driving testing program, with more than 15 returning positive laboratory results.
In 2003, almost a third of drivers killed on Victoria’s roads had drugs other than alcohol in their system, and in a number of recent years, more people have been killed with drugs other than alcohol in their system than those killed with a blood-alcohol reading above .05.
Since the introduction of random roadside drug testing in Victoria on December 13, a number of drivers had already been issued with penalty notices for a first drug-driving offence.
If a driver returns a positive result from a roadside drug test, he or she is then taken to the police bus for a second test. A second positive result is then sent to a laboratory for testing, which can take up to 14 days. Only after a positive laboratory result is a driver prosecuted for a drug-driving offence…
Full Story at TheAge.com.au