Drugs in the frame

By Lia Bichel
SPRINGVALE’S Highway Patrol police have warned they will not tolerate drivers who get behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs.
Sergeant Scott Roberts said police were running continuous operations to ensure drugged up drivers are taken off Greater Dandenong roads.
His comments come after the latest Victoria Police figures released last week listed the drug speed as the most likely drug detected in motorists.
In the five and a half years since Victoria Police’s random drug testing program started, more than 122,000 drivers have been tested for drugs, and of those almost 2000 have tested positive.
Speed has been the most frequently detected drug with 83 per cent of all drivers detected having consumed it.
Cannabis was the second highest detected drug, 29 per cent, and MDMA or ecstasy the third highest at 15 per cent.
Sgt Roberts said while drugs taking does not appear to be a major problem with drivers on Greater Dandenong roads, police would continue to run traffic operations targeting unsafe behaviour.
“We are very mindful of drivers being under the influence of drugs.
“Being intoxicated by drugs is just as bad as being intoxicated by alcohol and the consequences can be catastrophic,” he said.
Victoria was the first jurisdiction in the world to begin testing drivers randomly for illicit drug use.
Other jurisdictions across the world have since taken the same action and adapted and utilised the Victorian model of drug testing.
Victoria Police Traffic Drug and Alcohol Inspector Martin Boorman said the drug testing program continued to expand across the state.
“Motorists can expect to be drug tested by double-trouble buses or police cars – marked or unmarked,” he said.
“We have taken 2000 dangerous drivers off the roads with this program and we’ll continue coming up with new ways to catch more.”