POLICE SET FOR DRIVER DRUG TESTS

Police are to begin learning how to detect drugged drivers - part of a a
year-long project to determine the scope of the problem in New Zealand.

About 32 frontline officers will undergo three days of training this month
on drug recognition and "field impairment" tests, a series of balance tests
used by neurologists on motorists thought to be on drugs.

The training would later be given to other frontline staff and would
eventually be included in police recruits' initial training, national road
safety manager Superintendent Steve Fitzgerald said yesterday.

Police would examine drivers' pupil dilation and those suspected of having
used drugs would be put through a range of coordination tests. If a person
failed those tests, they would be observed by a medical practitioner, who
would decide whether they were capable of driving.

Mr Fitzgerald said the roadside testing methods were scientific and police
did not have to rely on a bodily sample to secure a conviction. Blood tests
were impractical because they could cost up to $3000 a person if police
were unsure what drug had been consumed and they showed only the presence
of drugs, not how badly the person was affected.

Trained officers would be 95 per cent accurate in determining if people
were on drugs.

The pilot scheme is set to start in June and is expected to run for at
least a year. During that time, people found to be incapacitated by drugs
would be charged, but the main purpose was to determine the size of the
problem.

The Automobile Association said it supported the project. A recent survey
of members had shown that 80 per cent strongly supported roadside drug testing.

Land Transport Safety Authority was "right behind" the project, a spokesman
said.