The Minister for Transport, Chris Steel, has expressed openness to changes in the drink and drug driving bill, indicating a willingness to consider amendments to the proposed legislation. This bill aims to tackle high-risk drink and drug driving behaviors on Canberra’s roads by granting ACT Police the power to impose immediate license suspensions and introducing stricter penalties for offenders.
Under the proposed laws, low-range drink drivers would face an immediate $800 fine and a six-month loss of license, while more serious offenses would carry penalties of up to $12,000 and an 18-month license suspension. The legislation also creates a new combined drink and drug driving offense with significantly higher penalties than separate offenses.
The bill has sparked debate, with some stakeholders raising concerns about the accuracy of roadside drug testing and its potential impact on medicinal cannabis users. In a similar context, New Zealand’s parliament passed the Land Transport Drug Driving Amendment Act 2024, which allows for inaccurate devices to detect recent use of certain drugs, despite concerns from critics about false positives and unfair treatment of certain groups.
Minister Steel’s openness to changes suggests a commitment to refining the bill to address concerns and ensure effective implementation. The ACT Government’s goal is to make Canberra’s roads safer through stricter enforcement and education, aligning with the Vision Zero initiative to prevent deaths and serious injuries on ACT roads.
