Released 29/11/2023
The ACT Government is introducing new road safety legislation to tackle unsafe drink and drug driving behaviour on ACT roads.
“The Road Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 provides swifter, stronger and fairer reforms that will make our roads safer for everyone,” said Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel.
“These laws will increase ACT Policing’s ability to act immediately to stop drink and drug-affected drivers by imposing immediate licence suspensions. The legislation will also improve road safety by increasing penalty levels to more effectively deter drink and drug driving and better reflect the risk to the community.
“First time low-range drink drivers receive an immediate $800 fine and six-month loss of licence under the new infringement scheme.
“This will mean that for low range drink drivers who accept responsibility, ACT Policing will not be required to attend a court hearing similar to other states including NSW and Victoria. This increased penalty will provide a strong deterrent while at the same time giving ACT Police more time to focus on more serious offences, including higher range drink driving.”
The legislation also creates a new combined drink and drug driving offence for which penalties will be significantly higher than for separate drink and drug driving offences.
“Drink or drug driving is not tolerated on ACT Roads and these dangerous behaviours will be targeted under these new laws,” said Minister Steel.
“These laws reflect the research that shows that a fatal crash is 23 times more likely when a person is under the influence of both alcohol and drugs in combination.
“The new laws will also expand roadside testing to include the ability for police to test for cocaine, which is a big step forward in our ability to detect drivers who may be under the influence of an illicit substance when they’re behind the wheel."
Minister Steel said the Road Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 is the next stage of the ACT Government’s review of road transport penalties to ensure they are proportionate both to the risk of harm on our roads and to other offences.
“Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol affects judgement and decision making, slows reaction time, reduces attention span and is often combined with other risky behaviours like speeding,” said Minister Steel.
Between 2010 and 2020, 40 percent of all drivers involved in fatal collisions had either alcohol or an illicit drug in their system, or both.
In June this year the ACT Government passed the Road Safety Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 targeting dangerous driving behaviours, such as high range speeding, hooning, and street racing. This was the first stage of the ACT Government’s review of road transport penalties.
ACT Policing has been effectively using the new powers introduced through this Bill for several months, swiftly removing more than 150 dangerous drivers from ACT roads by issuing immediate licence suspensions.
“New laws are only part of the overall picture. The ACT Government is committed to ongoing education, behaviour change programs and safety initiatives to keep our local roads safe,” said Minister Steel.
“Work is currently underway to develop a new program to support at risk youth with the aim of reducing dangerous driving behaviours.
“Over the summer holiday period, the ACT Government will roll out a community education and awareness campaign focussed on drink and drug driving. The campaign will highlight the Government’s zero tolerance stand on drink and drug driving and remind the community they can be pulled over by ACT Policing anytime, anywhere.”
For further information the new reforms visit www.cityservices.act.gov.au/roadsafety.
- Statement ends -
Chris Steel, MLA | Media Releases