Western Australia drug-drivers to receive instant licence bans

Drug-drivers in Western Australia (WA) will be subject to instant suspension of their driving licence as part of the proposed strict new measures the government is developing to keep these drivers off the roads. The proposed regulations will end a loophole allowing drug-drivers to remain on the roads until their court date, while drink-drivers currently have their driving licence suspended immediately.

The proposed instant licence suspensions would also affect drivers charged with having an illegal substance in their body, which is currently classified as a lesser offence, rather than being under the influence of drugs. Those drivers would most likely have their licence suspended until there were no longer traces of drugs in their system.

In other measures aimed at impaired drivers, Michelle Roberts, WA’s Police and Road Safety Minister, announced on Friday that the government planned to increase testing for drug-drivers and drink-drivers to ‘unprecedented’ levels in the next fiscal year.

Road safety researchers have requested that the WA Police routinely drug-test drivers who don’t pass an alcohol breathalyser test to determine the pervasiveness of drug-driving. A study conducted by the Curtin Monash Accident Research Centre found that almost 25% of drivers and passengers killed in vehicle crashes in WA from 2000 to 2015 tested positive for illegal drugs. Also, about 50% of people in that group had a blood-alcohol reading greater than 0.05.

According to recently released data, WA Police arrested 1760 individuals for drug-driving violations between July 2017 and January 2018. During the same period, 16 individuals were also charged with a combination of drug-driving and drink-driving offences.