DRUG DRIVERS PROMPT TALK OF ROADSIDE NARCOTIC TESTS

Heroin and cannabis users are reportedly regularly taking the wheel under
the influence of drugs.

About half of all drug users in a National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre
study said they drove at least once a month after using drugs. One-third
said they had had an accident under the influence of illicit drugs and
often drove without a licence and in unregistered cars.

Paul Dillon, a spokesman for the centre, said illicit drugs could impair
drivers' perceptions, awareness and reaction times, and that young people
needed to be educated about the dangers.

"We know there are more young people now who aren't drinking and driving;
they are smoking [drugs] and driving, or using ecstasy or speed and
driving," Mr Dillon said.

The NSW Police Minister, John Watkins, said he would consider a trial of
roadside drug testing units if one being conducted in Victoria was successful.

Victoria Police said 27 per cent of drivers killed in 2002 had tested
positive for drugs other than alcohol.

The drug test requires drivers to provide a saliva sample by sucking or
chewing on a disposable plastic cartridge. The saliva reacts with a litmus
paper, which shows the presence of methamphetamine and THC, the active
component of cannabis.

In NSW, drivers suspected of using drugs can already be taken to hospital
for immediate drug testing. Anyone involved in a crash causing death or
injury had to undergo mandatory drug and alcohol testing, Mr Watkins said.

The survey of 300 injecting drug users in Sydney found that 22 per cent of
those who had driven in the past year had done so at least once a week
within an hour of injecting heroin. Twenty-one per cent drove at least
weekly after using cannabis, and 14 per cent after using other opioids,
including methadone.

Seventeen per cent of the drug users who had driven in the past year had
had an accident in that time, compared with 1 per cent of the general
population. Nearly 75 per cent had driven in the past year but only 24 per
cent surveyed held a valid licence.

Nearly 40 per cent of those drug users who had ever driven had been caught
driving an unregistered car, 27 per cent had a record of dangerous or
negligent driving, and 18 per cent had run a red light.

A spokeswoman for the NRMA said research had found that young drivers,
especially men under 29, regularly mixed drugs and alcohol.