Drug Driving in New Zealand
New Zealand’s Herand on Sunday published an informative question and answer article with Annette King (the country’s Minister for Police) about the introduction of stronger measures to combat the problem of people driving under the influence of illegal drugs.
The minister also addresses the question of legal prescription drugs.
It is an offence to drive while incapable of proper control of a vehicle due to alcohol or drugs. That offence will remain under the proposals for new legislation. The new offence will be for driving while impaired by illegal drugs. If impairment is detected at the roadside, the police officer will be able to prevent the driver from continuing to drive. If prescription drugs are found in the blood, then as long as they were taken by prescription, the driver would not be charged with driving while impaired by illegal drugs, but may be charged with other driving offences such as careless or dangerous driving.
Driving under the influence of alcohol is still a much greater problem than driving under the influence of illegal drugs. But both can be equally destructive and the new law in New Zealand ensures that there is a specific penalty for the drug offense. It seems likely that other countries and states will follow New Zealand’s lead. A workplace drug testing program should also identify different levels of response for driving under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs, and prescription drugs.
The DaytaTree Team