Review of the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1977

The following form has been designed to help you make a submission to the review of the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1977. The questions below are taken from the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Discussion Paper.

1. Drugs and Driving

1.How should random roadside drug testing be introduced in the ACT?	Comment:
a.Which drugs should be included in the testing program?	THC, Methamphetamine and MDMA (as in most other Australian jurisdictions) Prescription medications Other (please comment below) Comment:
b.Should drug driving offences and penalties mirror those that currently exist for drink driving?
2.Should drug testing be compulsory for all drivers who have returned a positive result when breath tested for alcohol?
3. Should blood samples already taken under ACT legislation when a driver involved in a motor vehicle accident attends a hospital be tested for drugs as well as alcohol?
4.What other strategies could be adopted to address the incidence of drug driving in the ACT?	Comment:

2. Improving Detection of Drink Driving

5.Should police be permitted to conduct a breath test in the driveway or entrance to a multi-unit residential development if they suspect a person of driving under the influence?
6.Should the police be able to breath test the supervisors of learner drivers (whether a professional driving instructor or not)?
7.Should a person be required to undergo a breath analysis test if the results of their screening test show any presence of alcohol?
8.Should all blood sample/s taken under the ACT legislation – including the sample currently given to the driver - be sent to an approved laboratory (ACTGAL) for storage and/or testing?
9.Should ‘body sample’ be replaced in the ACT legislation by more a specific term/s? (e.g. blood, sweat, urine, saliva)?
	Comment:
10. Should the use of blood or other samples taken under the ACT legislation be limited only to prosecutions under that Act?

3. Interventions to Prevent Drink Driving

11.Should police be able to confiscate the vehicle keys from suspected drink drivers to prevent them from driving until the alcohol or drug screening tests have been completed?
12. Should the police be able to immediately suspend the drivers’ licence of a person detected of driving with a BAC in excess of the prescribed limit?
a. If so, in what circumstances should immediate licence suspension apply? b. Should it be limited to drivers with a high range BAC and/or repeat drink drivers?	Comment:

4. Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Limits

13. Should the BAC limit for learner and provisional drivers be lowered to zero?
14. Should the BAC limit for motorcyclists during their first year of riding be lowered to zero (even if they have previously held a drivers licence for more than one year)?
15. If the supervisors of learner drivers are subject to random breath testing (see Q2), should the BAC limit be set at zero?
16. Should the BAC limit for taxi, bus, restricted and heavy vehicle drivers be lowered to zero?
17. Should the BAC limit for a person who has been convicted of a drink driving offence be zero after s/he is re-licensed?
18. Should the special BAC limit for COMCAR drivers be removed?
19. If the BAC limit is lowered to zero for some drivers, should the ACT legislation include a limited defence to account for consumption of alcohol for the purpose of religious observance or administration of a medicine or the like?

5. Penalties for Drink Driving

20. Are the existing penalties for drink driving in the ACT appropriate?
a. Should penalties be increased to mirror those in NSW?
b. Should the penalties for repeat offenders be increased?
c. Should any other penalties be amended?	Comment:
21. Should there be a compulsory obligation for offenders to attend a rehabilitation program or drink driver education course following conviction for a drink driving offence?
22. Should offenders be required to make an application to the court for restoration of their licence following disqualification for a drink drive offence?
a. If so, what should be the criteria for restoration of an offenders licence?	Comment:
23. Should vehicle sanctions such as vehicle impoundment or confiscation be introduced in the ACT?
a. If so, in what circumstances should vehicles be impounded / confiscated?	Comment:
24. Should police be able to immediately impound the vehicles of drink drivers?

6. Alcohol Interlocks

25. Should the ACT introduce an alcohol interlock program?
a. If so, in what circumstances should vehicles be impounded / confiscated? b. Which offenders should be targeted? c. Should offenders using an interlock device be able to avoid serving a period of licence suspension? d. How should the period for participation in the program be calculated?	Comment:
e. Should the ACT provide a subsidy to low income participants in an interlock scheme?

7. Granting Restricted Licences to Drink Drivers

26.Should restricted licences continue to be issued to convicted drink drivers?
a. If so, in what circumstances should restricted licences be issued (e.g. to first offenders only)?	Comment:
b.Should the courts be required to take public safety as the primary consideration when making decisions in relation to granting of restricted licences?

Please make any other comments on issues arising from the Discussion paper, or the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Act 1977:

Comment:

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Do you agree that the information provided in this submission may be posted on the department of Territory and Municipal Services website (www.tams.act.gov.au)?
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