POLICE TO BEGIN DRUG TESTING MOTORISTS

Queensland police will begin drug testing motorists in the next
month in a crackdown on drivers who get behind the wheel after using
illicit substances.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said on Sunday she was putting
drug-drivers on notice, and warned them roadside drug tests would soon
be carried out alongside random alcohol breath tests.

She said officers would take swabs of saliva from motorists and test
for drugs such as speed, ecstasy and cannabis at mobile testing stations.

"Those drivers who use drugs and then get behind the wheel of a car
put themselves at risk, put their passengers at risk and, worst of
all, put those drivers in other vehicles at risk," she told reporters
in Brisbane.

"I don't want my family on the road with people who are using drugs
and getting into vehicles."

Ms Bligh admitted the tests, which take three to five minutes, could
cause some irritation for motorists but appealed for patience.

"I would ask for motorists' patience in this regard, spending five
minutes on the side of the road is a small investment in ensuring the
safety of you and your family."

Motorists caught driving under the influence of drugs faced a maximum
$1,000 fine, three months imprisonment and licence suspension.

However, only 20,000 motorists are expected to be tested in the next
12 months, a small percentage of the three million alcohol breath
tests which are carried out in the state each year.

Three hundred people have been killed on Queensland roads so far this
year, and Ms Bligh feared the state could be approaching a record road
toll.

Opposition transport spokesman Tim Nicholls welcomed the tests but
accused the government of taking its time to implement the measure.

"It's taken a long time to get here, the legislation went through the
house (of parliament) five months ago," he told reporters.

"The government has failed to respond for too long to what has been an
issue that has been obvious to anyone who has been looking at road
fatality figures."

Ms Bligh would not rule out extending roadside testing to prescription
drugs in the future following research from insurer AAMI, which showed
a quarter of Queenslanders had driven after taking medication which
can hinder vision and reaction times.