DRUG users will have another reason to feel paranoid from next month as Albury police introduce permanent driver testing.
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Officers have previously relied on a drug bus from Wagga to test road users.
But Highway Patrol Sergeant Darryl Thomas said all officers would soon have access to testing devices in their vehicles.
“It works the same way we do random breath testing,” he said.
“Mobile units will have drug testing swipes that will be used to randomly test drivers.
If you’re out there and you’re using drugs, be ready to be tested.
- Albury Sergeant Darryl Thomas
“If they test positive, they will be taken to the closest police station and will supply an oral sample.”
The tests are similar to the ones used in Victoria and cover amphetamines, cannabis and MDMA – the main ingredient in ecstasy.
A roadside drug testing pilot program was launched in Melbourne in 2004 and Wodonga officers now catch about five drug drivers each week.
The introduction of full time roadside testing in Albury will end a cross-border anomaly.
Sergeant Thomas said the kits would be positive for road safety.
“It’s another tool in our toolkit to detect drug driving offenders,” he said.
“We have been utilising Wagga’s testing program on previous occasions and we will now be able to do it anywhere, any time.
“If you’re out there and you’re using drugs, be ready to be tested and put before the courts if found positive.”
Albury officers last ran a drug testing operation in March and caught several drivers.
The NSW system has been criticised for testing only for the presence of drugs, rather than impairment and may detect substances weeks after use.
Magistrate Tony Murray recently warned a driver drugs could be detected four to six weeks after use.
Sergeant Thomas said people “need to think again” if they believed they were right to drive a few days after use.
“It’s totally different to impairment – it’s having an illicit drug in their system while driving,” he said.
“If you’re driving a car, expect to be drug tested.
“All police units will be using the system.”
Issues were raised in Wangaratta recently after police ran out of roadside testing kits for several months.
Wodonga police have recently expressed concerns about drug-affected parents driving with children in their car.
More than 250 drug drivers were caught in Wodonga last year.
