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131 drunk drivers and 41 drug drivers detected in May

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ACT Policing caught 172 drink and drug-affected drivers last month during targeting under its multi-agency road safety strategy.

Police conducted over 14,500 roadside random breath tests during May, removing 131 drunk-drivers from Canberra roads as well as conducting 252 roadside drug tests with 41 drivers detected under the influence of illicit drugs.

Comparably, police conducted 9,802 breath tests during June 2013, removing 104 drunk-drivers and three drug-impaired drivers from Canberra roads.

Traffic Operations Station Sergeant Rod Anderson said the results showed recent investments into the Road Safety Operations Team had paid off.

“ACT Policing increased its capacity for roadside drug screening as a result of the expansion of our Road Safety Operations Team. The simple fact is that the more drivers police are able to test, the more drug-impaired drivers we will identify,” Sergeant Anderson said.

“Random roadside drug testing is a key strategy in the ACT Government’s road safety approach. Like roadside breath screening, it is about removing impaired drivers from our roads — the drivers that pose the highest risk.”

“A key part of the targeting strategy during May was the use of both high-visibility patrols along with an increased number of unmarked police vehicles, reinforcing that impaired drivers can be caught anytime, anywhere,” Sergeant Anderson said.

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One Response to 131 drunk drivers and 41 drug drivers detected in May

Arianne McManus says: 22 August 2014 at 2:10 pm

Wow, that’s truly alarming. That’s going to be a huge health hazard for both them and the would-be affected party if they mess up on the road. It’s truly a good strategy to have random screening for the motorists out there, and keeping the police visibility around, to ensure that roadside accidents be avoided.

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