By Sonia Hickey and Ugur Nedim Low-range drink driving is where a driver has a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 to 0.79 millilitres per 210 litres of breath. The maximum penalty when it’s the driver’s first major traffic offence within 5 years is an ‘automatic’ licence disqualification of 6 months – which can be reduced ...
Category: Driving Under the Influence
Arresting Drivers for Using Cold and Flu Tablets Will Not Save Lives
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim NSW roads minister Melinda Pavey has announced there will be an expansion of substances that can ‘influence’ drivers for the purpose of laws against driving under the influence (DUI). She has also announced a strategy designed to assess whether individuals on the Opioid Treatment Program are fit to drive. ...
New Road Laws: Tougher DUI Penalties, Targeting Phone Use and Cocaine Testing
By Paul Gregoire and Ugur Nedim On 1 July, a series of new road safety laws will come into effect across New South Wales. The new laws will add cocaine to the list of drugs police test drivers for, significantly increase the penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, and implement ...
Unaccompanied L-Plater Charged with Driving Under the Influence
A learner-driver is facing multiple charges including driving under the influence and unaccompanied after being pulled over by police on the Northern Rivers. The story so far Police signalled 23-year old Mr Squires to pull over after allegedly seeing him driving erratically at Kyogle Road at Mount Burrell, near Nimbin. Officers reported suspecting he was ...
Disqualified Drivers Can Now Apply to Get Their Licences Back
The Road Transport Amendment (Driver Licence Disqualification) Act came into effect on 28 October 2017, allowing certain disqualified drivers in NSW to apply to the local court for the removal of their disqualification periods. Who can apply? If you are a disqualified driver, you may apply for the removal of all disqualification periods where: Any ...
Refusing to Give Breath Test No Longer a Crime
Many jurisdictions, including NSW, have laws which make it a crime for drivers to refuse a breath test by police. The state of Kansas in the USA had similar laws in place – until recently. Last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Kansans who refuse a breath or blood test cannot be prosecuted. The Court ...
0.05 Alcohol Limit for Drink Driving: Has Australia Got it Right?
In Australia, drivers are required to maintain a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of under 0.05% (i.e. 0.05 grams of alcohol per 100 mL of blood). Readings of 0.05 to 0.079 are classified as ‘low range’, readings between 0.08 and 0.149 are ‘mid range,’ and readings greater than 0.150 are in the ‘high range’. However, other ...
Beating a Drink Driving Case, Naturally
A New York woman who was charged with drink driving has had the charges dropped after being diagnosed with a rare medical condition which causes her body to produce alcohol. The woman, who cannot be named, was pulled over after allegedly being observed driving erratically in October 2014. A breath test returned a reading of ...
Operation ‘Arrive Alive’ Aims to Promote Safe Driving
As of Friday 18 December, police have invested extra resources into targeting drink driving, speeding and unlicensed driving in the lead up to Christmas. Police reported that on day one of the blitz, called ‘Operation Arrive Alive’, 48,916 breath tests were administered, 21 of which resulted in drink driving charges. Police issued 1273 speeding tickets ...
Should Interlock Devices be Fitted to All Vehicles?
Getting behind the wheel in Australia means having to obey a whole host of traffic rules – but imagine if this included a mandatory breath test before you even turned the ignition! While fitting an ‘alcohol interlock device’ may be part of the punishment for those convicted of serious drink driving offences, some believe that ...