DRIVERS TO FACE TESTS FOR DRUG USE

Nelson police will soon begin drug-testing drivers in one of two new
initiatives targeting motorists.

Six new mufti cars will also patrol the Nelson-Marlborough region so police
can evaluate the effectiveness of unmarked cars in reducing road accidents
and unsafe driving.

Senior Sergeant Eric Davy, of Nelson's highway patrol, said two police
officers were to be trained in drug recognition in Christchurch next week
and testing would begin soon after they returned.

The Government last year announced a crackdown on drivers impaired by
cannabis and other illegal drugs. Police had been planning to run a pilot
drug-testing programme in several districts starting this June.

However, a spokeswoman from national headquarters said on Tuesday that was
no longer the plan. Instead the programme would start with officers
throughout the country being trained in drug-testing.

Mr Davy said roadside tests, similar to the traditional test of walking a
straight line to determine alcohol intoxication, would be used if police
suspected a motorist had used drugs.

Drivers who failed the roadside test would be taken to hospital for further
testing to confirm police suspicions.

Nelson drug and alcohol service regional manager Eileen Varley said some
people drove under the influence of drugs such as cannabis and
methamphetamines because they knew they would not be caught.

But she was concerned drivers who had smoked cannabis might be prosecuted
even if they had not smoked it recently, as the drug showed up in blood
tests long after it had been used.

Mr Davy said the roadside tests would rule out people who were not impaired
at the time they were driving.

He was unsure how many people were likely to be caught with the
drug-testing initiative, although he believed driving under the influence
of drugs had been a problem in the past.

"There have been accidents that have been caused by a person being impaired
but not through alcohol and until this time we have not had the skill
levels to ascertain the cause."

Motorists would initially be tested at checkpoints, but as more officers
were trained in the techniques, people could expect to be tested when
stopped during routine traffic policing, he said.

Meanwhile, six new mufti cars will be used to pull drivers over as part of
a national survey beginning in the South Island in July.

Mr Davy said the cars would be introduced to the region for a month while
police evaluated the difference a high concentration of unmarked cars had
on motorists' behaviour.

The number of road accidents would be recorded and evaluated, as would
officers' reports of driver behaviour, and the offences they detected.

Mr Davy said Nelson had been part of the unmarked highway patrol programme
since it began late last year. A supercharged Holden Commodore has been one
of the unmarked cars patrolling the region.

Mr Davy said different makes and models were rotated around the regions to
stop motorists becoming familiar with a particular car, in the hope it
would encourage motorists to drive safely even if a police car was not visible.