ROADSIDE DRUG TEST FOR DRIVERS

Drivers suspected of being under the influence of drugs will be tested at
the roadside and repeat drink drivers will be forced to install engine
immobilisers under tough new road safety measures unveiled by the coalition
yesterday.

In a $1.8 million initiative, police can demand that a behavioral or
reactive test be performed by motorists who they believe may be affected by
drugs. If motorists fail, they will be required to provide blood and urine
samples.

A minimum 12-month loss of licence will be enforced if traces of any illicit
drug are found.

Details of the initiative, launched by the Premier, Mr Jeff Kennett, form
part of a 10-year law and order plan that also raises the prospect of
part-time and probationary judges being appointed.

Asked yesterday if motorists could refuse to submit to behavioral tests, the
Police Minister, Mr Bill McGrath, said that if necessary the law would be
changed to make it mandatory for motorists to undergo the tests.

In another measure aimed at reducing the road toll, drink drivers caught
over the legal blood-alcohol limit more than once will be ordered to install
an engine immobiliser.

The car will not start unless the driver blows into the hand-held device.
The engine is immobilised if the blood-alcohol reading exceeds zero.

Mr Kennett reiterated the coalition's budget commitment to train an extra
400 police in the next two years, bringing the number of new officers to
1200 over that period.

The coalition has already promised $100 million over five years to build 35
police stations and new court complexes, which will be located at the
discretion of the force. Fourteen will be in rural Victoria.

Those who profit from crime, especially crime associated with drugs, will be
targeted for asset confiscation, with a $1 million funding boost for the
Asset Confiscation Office. Other promises included simplified evidence for
juries and a Legal Information Precinct at the old Magistrates Court in
Russell Street. Part-time and probationary judges are also possibilities
after the election, with the Government saying it would discuss the concept
with the legal profession.

Online court services were also touted as a potential way to solve simple
disputes.

The Opposition's police and corrections spokesman, Mr Andre Haermeyer,
criticised the drug testing plan, saying that some hard drugs did nothing to
impair the precision of a user.

The Law Institute of Victoria welcomed the coalition's crackdown on
drug-affected motorists and its plan to spend an extra $20 million on
preventing domestic violence.

The president of Liberty Victoria, Ms Felicity Hampel, QC, said she was
concerned about the moves to drug test drivers because the tests were
unreliable. "These kinds of behavioral tests were discredited years ago
because they are reliant on the subjective analysis of the officer. There is
no objectivity to them whatsoever," she said.

A spokesman for the RACV, Mr John Rees, said it was important the Government
spelt out how they intended to test the impairment of drivers.