Last year, 103 people died in crashes on New Zealand roads where the driver was later found to have drugs in their system. Unfortunately, this is an upward trend and is surpassing those killed with excess alcohol in their system.

In comparison, there have 22 deaths in New Zealand from Covid-19. No untimely deaths from accident or disease are good. And I’m not saying Covid-19 doesn’t deserve a lot of attention. But it is time to start turning some of the of politicians’ time, tax payers’ money, and national angst that the pandemic has garnered to other issues of importance that are seriously affecting – and taking – the lives of New Zealanders.

The Road Transport Forum (RTF) was very happy to see a new law introduced to Parliament yesterday (Thursday 30 July) to give Police the power to conduct random roadside drug testing of drivers. We have been lobbying for some time for the introduction of adequate roadside drug testing, as drivers on drugs present an increasing risk to our professional drivers.

We commend Associate Transport Minister Julie Anne Genter and Minister of Police Stuart Nash for the introduction of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Bill. Once passed, it will allow Police to test if drivers are under the influence of drugs on the road side, just as they do now for alcohol.

Those of us in the safety sensitive industries are very concerned about this Government’s plans to legalise recreational cannabis, so it is imperative some steps are in place to ensure employers can meet workplace health and safety laws. This is one step in that direction.

Truck drivers are in the unique position of sharing their workplace – New Zealand roads – with the public. While the road transport industry follows workplace health and safety laws to ensure drivers are not drug impaired with extensive testing regimes including pre-employment, random and post incident/accident drug testing, there is no guarantee that those they are on the road with won’t be impaired by drugs, as there is no adequate testing regime for them.

Overseas, there is roadside drug testing but until now, there has been a reluctance in New Zealand to introduce oral fluid tests to quickly check drivers for drugs such as THC (cannabis), methamphetamine, opiates, cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy), and benzodiazepines, which are the high risk drugs and medications used by drivers in New Zealand.

This Bill won’t be passed before the election, but the RTF hopes it will be high on the list of legislation to progress once the next Government is formed. We have a ridiculously high road toll in New Zealand and drug use is a big contributor. We need to do something about it.

We will be holding Julie Anne Genter to these words from yesterday’s press release:

“Road safety is a priority for this Government. No loss of life on our roads is acceptable and we’re committed to taking action to stop unnecessary trauma.”

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