Bay police welcome move to crackdown on drugged-driving carnage

Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Brent Crowe says people driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol are a significant problem. Photo/file

Bay of Plenty police have welcomed a move to better equip officers in the fight against drugged driving.

In the past five years, there have been 45 crashes in the Bay where drugs were a causation factor. Of these crashes, six were fatal. Another 21 resulted in injury.

Associate Transport Minister Craig Foss said he would be presenting to Cabinet findings of a Ministry of Transport review which included roadside saliva testing for drug impairment.

Currently, officers with a ''good cause to suspect'' that a driver has consumed a drug or drugs may ask a driver to a manually impairment test which assesses a driver's balance and motor skills.

The driver can be forbidden to drive and asked to supply a blood sample, of which it is an offence to refuse.

Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Brent Crowe said impaired drivers, whether under the influence of drugs or alcohol, were a significant concern to police and the wider community.

''Drivers who get behind the wheel while under the influence of drugs or alcohol are not only putting themselves at risk but also all road users,'' he said.

''As a society everyone needs to do their part to ensure people don't become impaired to the extent that they make poor decision, and if they are impaired, take practical steps to keep everyone safe.''

New Zealand has one of the world's highest rates of cannabis use. Two-thirds of cannabis users admit to driving under the influence, according to the NZ Transport Agency.

Mr Foss told NZME a key aim of the road-safety action plan was to cut crashes caused by impaired drivers.

"The Government has already introduced a number of measures targeting drink-driving but we needed more research to understand how drug-driving enforcement could be carried out most effectively."

Australia and other countries carry out roadside stops using saliva testing to detect cannabis, methamphetamine and MDMA (ecstasy).

Previous research into saliva-testing in New Zealand found the process took too long and were not reliable. However, the tests have improved in recent years.

Labour's police spokesman, Stuart Nash, said not having drug-testing of drivers was a gap in road-safety enforcement.

"As soon as we get the technology in place I think it has got to be rushed out because people who are high behind the wheel, I think, are just as much a danger as those who are drunk.''

AA spokesman Mike Noon said New Zealand lagged behind other countries in having roadside testing.

"If you can save any innocent Kiwi's life by rushing this in, then let's do it."

Ross Bell, of the New Zealand Drug Foundation, said he was unconvinced that the saliva-testing technology had progressed enough to implement in New Zealand and more police should be trained to carry out field impairment tests, which were more accurate than many would suspect.

And there was opportunity to improve education around drug-driving, which was currently "abysmal", he said.

- Additional reporting NZH