POSITIVE START TO DRUG TESTS

AN HOUR after the Winter Enchanted rave recovery party began in
Adelaide, police had set up South Australia's first random roadside
drug testing station on the city's outskirts.

But in three-hour blitzes at two city sites, no one randomly pulled
over recorded a positive reading to either THC, the active ingredient
in cannabis, or methamphetamine.

Testing for alcohol and drugs went smoothly, with most motorists
tested on Anzac Hwy positive about the latest police road safety
measure, despite the process being time-consuming.

"It takes up to five minutes for the roadside screening test and we
always suspected that would be the case," said Assistant Commissioner
Grant Stevens.

Motorists with an initial positive reading must undergo another
screening taking up to 30 minutes. "There is a delay associated with
this . . . and that's just one of those issues we have to deal with,"
he said. The delays did not, however, appear to be of concern to
those tested yesterday.

"It's about time something like this came in," said Sarah, of
Glenelg. "It's seen as the easy way out, people have thought instead
of drinking, take drugs, and you can still drive, so I think a lot of
people are going to be caught out."

Motorists who spoke to The Advertiser yesterday were concerned not
about being caught, but that there were not enough police able to
catch those who were driving under the influence of drugs.

Since the legislation became active on Saturday, police will use the
first 12 months to monitor and evaluate results from the 13-person
team conducting the testing.

Police expect 9000 drivers to be tested during the 12-month trial of
the legislation.