Cocaine added to roadside tests in SA as police link drug to 'unacceptable' number of fatal crashes
Cocaine will be included in South Australia’s roadside drug testing regime from next year, as police seek to reduce the frequency of fatal crashes linked to the illicit substance.
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00:00From early next year, SA Police will begin testing for cocaine in roadside drug tests.
00:07Now, these tests currently detect methamphetamine, cannabis and MGMA, also known as ecstasy,
00:12but that'll be expanding from next year.
00:15And Commissioner Grant Stephens says that between 2018 and 2023, cocaine was involved
00:21in nine fatal accidents on South Australian roads, and he says that's a statistic which
00:25is just unacceptable.
00:27Now, Commissioner Stephens says that a rise in cocaine use is a factor in this decision,
00:31and the wastewater analysis released by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission
00:36estimated that cocaine use in Adelaide reached a record high in December of last year.
00:41Commissioner Stephens says that cocaine's effects are relatively short, but the drug
00:45can remain in the body's system for around 24 hours.
00:48He says that cocaine can impede a person's ability to make good decisions behind the
00:52wheel, saying it can increase things like overconfidence, recklessness and, in general,
00:57poor decision-making.
00:58The expansion means that SA will join Queensland and New South Wales for roadside testing of
01:03cocaine.
01:04SAPOL says that penalties vary for drug-driving offences and include a fine of $849, plus
01:10a $102 contribution to the Victims of Crime Levy, four demerit points and a minimum three-month
01:16licence disqualification.
01:17SAPOL says it will now put out a tender for the new drug testing design, but says that
01:22random drug testing for road users will remain the same.