Rodney Stevens
Issuing a fine to NSW people caught for the first-time drink and drug driving has seen a significant reduction in court appearances and increased the certainly of a licence sanction.
A new study by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research BOCSAR investigated the extent of the impact after new laws were introduced in May 2019 giving NSW police the discretion to issue a $561 fine for first time offenders, which has now increased to $603.
The study used data from the NSW Police Force Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) for all first-time low, special and novice range exceed the prescribed concentration of alcohol PCA incidents and first-time drug-driving incident between December 2016 and March 2020, which showed the introduction of penalty notices reduced the number of Court Attendance Notices CANS for PCA offences by 81 per-cent, or 4,779 fewer CANS than predicted.
For first-time drug driving instances, the reduction of CANS was smaller, but still significant at 29.9 per-cent, or 1,118 fewer notices issued.
The reduction was smaller for first-time drug users, the BOCSAR study found because these offenders were more likely to have characteristics which made them less likely to receive a penalty notice, such as concurrent offences and prior offences.
The BOCSAR study found the reforms have increased the consistency of licence sanctions for drink and drug driving offences.
The changes have also translated into decreases in court dismissals or conditional discharges, with first-time drink-driving offenders receiving a court dismissal or conditional discharge decreasing from 51.5 per-cent to 8 per-cent, while among first-time drug-drivers it decreased from 28 per-cent to 15.2 per-cent.
NSW motorists who commit a first-time low range, special range or novice range drink driving offence can have their licence disqualified for up to six months and face a $603 fine, which can be increased to a maximum of $2,200 by a court.
Roadside drug tests in NSW take a saliva sample and can detect the presence of cannabis, ecstasy, MDMA, cocaine, and methamphetamine (ice or speed) and if the initial test is positive, the test is repeated, and additional laboratory tests are done to confirm a positive result.
The penalties for drink and drug driving offences can be found on the NSW Government website https://www.nsw.gov.au/driving-boating-and-transport/demerits-penalties-and-offences/offences/alcohol-and-drug-offences/drink-and-drug-driving-penalties