Government outlines four drugs that drivers will be tested for, the plan for rollout across New Zealand

The Government has confirmed police will soon begin checking drivers for THC (cannabis), methamphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy) and cocaine as part of the new drug-driving testing regime.

Police previously put out a tender for equipment capable of testing those four drugs. The Government today said new oral-fluid testing devices had been secured to screen for them.

Testing will start in Wellington next month, before beginning to scale up from April until coverage is nationwide by mid-year.

The test will involve taking a quick tongue swab from the motorist. If it’s positive for one of the four drugs, a saliva sample will be taken for laboratory analysis. This analysis can detect up to 25 other substances as well.

A second roadside test will also be conducted. If that is positive, the motorist won’t be allowed to drive for 12 hours. If the laboratory result comes back positive, an infringement notice will be issued.

Drivers who don’t comply with the roadside drug test will also receive an infringement notice. The Government expects most drivers will be free to go about five minutes after a negative test.

“Drug-impaired drivers are a menace on New Zealand roads,” Transport Minister Chris Bishop said. “Around 30% of all road deaths now involve an impairing drug. If you take drugs and drive, you’re putting innocent lives at risk – and we will not tolerate it.

“Our Government is committed to improving road safety, and that includes holding dangerous, drugged-up drivers to account. Rolling out roadside drug testing is a practical step towards safer roads and fewer tragedies.”

Transport Minister Chris Bishop said roadside drug testing is "a practical step towards safer roads and fewer tragedies". Photo / Mark Mitchell

Police Minister Mark Mitchell said this was a welcome tool to police’s “enforcement toolbox” and he believed it would strengthen police’s ability to keep roads safe.

This is the latest effort by New Zealand’s politicians to implement a drug-driving regime.

The previous Government introduced legislation allowing for a random roadside drug testing regime, but no oral fluid testing devices were found that met the specified evidentiary standards. That led the coalition Government to propose a bill with a different standard.

The latest legislation passed its third reading in Parliament in March. It received the support of National, Labour, Act and NZ First. The Greens and Te Pāti Māori voted against it.

At the select committee stage, it was argued the tests prove the presence of drugs, but not that the driver is impaired.

“There is a problem in terms of the science here. Unlike with alcohol, the presence of a substance in a sample does not equal impairment,” said Sarah Helm, executive director of the NZ Drug Foundation.

“We would love to have a method that’s as accurate as breathalysing for detecting impairment, but unfortunately the science isn’t there.”

But Karen Dow, the mother of Matthew Dow, who was killed on New Year’s Eve 2017 near Nelson by a driver who had been drinking and used methamphetamine and cannabis, told the committee a line needs to be drawn in the sand.

“I think arguing the degree of impairment is like arguing the length of a piece of string, there’s never going to be an end to it,” she said.

‘But I think morally any government has responsibility when there is a known cause for one-third of all road deaths being caused by a factor that we have the tools and we have the manpower to be able to reduce this factor significantly.”

Jamie Ensor is a senior political reporter in the NZ Herald press gallery team based at Parliament. He was previously a TV reporter and digital producer in the Newshub press gallery office. He was a finalist this year for Political Journalist of the Year at the Voyager Media Awards.