- By Simeon Brown, Member of Parliament for Pakuranga
Later this year, the coalition Government will introduce and pass legislation to implement roadside drug testing, in order to improve road safety and restore law and order.
Alcohol and drugs have long been the highest contributing factor in fatal road crashes in New Zealand, contributing to 200 fatal crashes in 2022 alone.
This Government won’t sit idly by when more can be done to save lives on our roads.
With the number of alcohol- and drug-related road fatalities remaining high, something has to change.
Our legislation will give police the power to randomly screen drivers for drugs at the roadside using oral fluid-testing devices, similar to drink-driving enforcement.
The previous Government tried to introduce roadside drug-testing during their second term, but the legislation was unworkable as the tests needed to be suitable for evidentiary standards instead of screening standards.
This essentially prohibited the use of oral fluid drug tests, leaving police without a suitable roadside screening device.
Oral fluid tests are a common tool used for drug screening in countries like Australia, and can be used to establish with high accuracy whether a driver is under the influence.
To ensure an even greater degree of accuracy, lab testing will be used in addition to roadside testing so police have the evidence they need to hold the driver accountable.
As part of this change, we will also set police a target of administering 50,000 oral fluid tests a year, to catch as many drug drivers as possible before they do serious harm.
This Government is committed to saving lives on our roads by targeting the highest contributing factors in fatal road crashes, increasing the level of road maintenance, and delivering safe and new Roads of National Significance.
We expect to introduce the roadside drug-testing legislation within the next couple of months and intend to have it passed and made law by the end of 2024.
