AS of today ignorance of exactly what drug you took is no longer an excuse for being high behind the wheel.
It is also now illegal for a driver to refuse a drug or alcohol test, following the passing of the Road Transport (Alcohol and Drugs) Amendment Act, and police will be able to order a driver to stay put for up to half an hour while they wait for testing gear.
“[The Act] prevents drivers found driving while under the influence of an illicit drug from avoiding punishment by using the excuse they were mistaken about what illegal drug they were using,” says Attorney-General Simon Corbell.
One assumes this provision only applies to those who knew they were taking some kind of intoxicating substance, just not exactly which one.
The A-G’s office says that ACT Policing statistics show “impaired driving, primarily due to alcohol, but sometimes in combination with illicit drugs” is the primary contributing factor in almost 40 per cent of all fatal crashes in the ACT, and that a driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 is twice as likely to crash as a sober driver.
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