A groundbreaking trial of random roadside saliva testing for illegal drugs turned up trumps in Australia on Monday with one in eight of the first batch of drivers turning in a swab that contained traces of cannabis.
In the year-long trial, the first of its kind in the world, police in Victoria expect to check the ”gob swabs” of 9 000 drivers.
”We had a driver test positive within the fourth driver into the queue and that was somewhat surprising so early on,” police spokesperson Bob Hastings told national broadcaster ABC. ”We had no real expectation of what we were going to find out on the roads, but it was a surprise.”
The drivers who failed were fined Aus$300 (about R1 300) for a first offence and had three demerit points entered on their licences.
The hand-held scanners can detect cannabis and methamphetamine-based drugs such as Ecstasy, but not heroin.
In a national survey, a quarter of men under the age of 25 admitted to driving after taking an illicit drug. Of those who confessed to drug-driving, Ecstasy was the drug of choice, followed by cannabis.
Lorry drivers and late-night revellers are the targets of the campaign in Victoria, Australia’s second-largest state.
The biggest state, New South Wales, will bring in drug testing next year. Again, truck drivers taking amphetamines (speed) and cannabis will be targeted.
”For some time now, there has been concern about the level of drugs being taken by heavy-vehicle drivers,” New South Wales roads minister Carl Scully said.
”There is an emerging number who are using speed to stay awake. They’re using cannabis to get to sleep and they go back on speed to go back on their shift.” — Sapa-DPA