Drug driving is now responsible for more deaths on Australian roads than drink driving. National crash data shows that between 2010 and 2023, fatal crashes involving drugs, including cannabis, methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine, more than doubled to 16-point-8 percent. At least one of those drugs is being detected in about 1 in 5 motorcycle deaths. Over the same 13-year period, crashes linked to drink driving decreased significantly Continuing a long-term downwards trend. There were ten times more random breath tests last year than roadside drug tests, but a drug test was ten times more likely to yield a positive result. Testing for drugs using a saliva swab is more complicated and more expensive than a breath test but states and territories have been incorporating more of them into their testing regimes.
00:00Well, on the positive side, the story of Australia curbing drink driving as a problem
00:07is a story of success.
00:09However, as we have been tackling that issue, it sounds like that the issue of drug driving
00:15has been creeping in.
00:16And at the moment, this issue is the most prominent risk factor in fatal crashes across
00:23Australia.
00:24We have nearly 1,200 fatal fatalities on the roads, on Australian roads.
00:30And if there is anything that we should be looking into, this shows that the most prominent
00:36risk factor above drink driving, above failure to wear a seat belt, and above driving without
00:44a valid license, this stands above all of those other risk factors, and it's a problem that
00:48needs urgent attention.
00:50There are a couple of factors contributing to this issue.
00:53Yeah, this was my next one, Milad.
00:55Sorry to interrupt you there.
00:56You know, why are we seeing this rise?
00:58I mean, are more people taking illicit drugs and driving?
01:01Are we doing more tests?
01:02What are the factors?
01:03Well, one issue is that big leverage in curbing the drink driving problem was the scale of the
01:11random breath testing program that we have had in Australia.
01:15A lot of drivers get tested on the roads in relation to drink driving, and they know that
01:21chances are that if they drive while under the influence of alcohol, chances are that
01:26they get caught.
01:27However, the scale of the roadside drug testing is by no means comparable to that of the random
01:34breath testing.
01:35We test more than 10 million drivers nationally each year on Australian roads, but no more
01:42than 500,000 for drugs.
01:44And that means that a lot of drivers would assume that, well, if they are under the influence,
01:50they might get away with it.
01:51So that's one issue.
01:52And another is behavioural and perceptional.
01:56And the fact that the same culture of taboo around drink driving that has been built over
02:04generations that has not been developed in relation to drug driving, a lot of drivers
02:09have misconceptions and misperceptions about what the effect of drugs actually are in relation
02:15to their driving.
02:16Yeah.
02:17I want to ask you about that because we're all pretty well educated about how alcohol impairs
02:21your ability to drive.
02:23But what about how, if you're under the influence of methamphetamine, MDMA, cocaine, cannabis,
02:28I imagine they all impact someone's ability to operate a car differently.
02:33That's the thing.
02:34The effect of alcohol is well established and well understood.
02:37However, when it comes to illicit drugs, first of all, each drug impacts the ability of the
02:42driver in a different way.
02:44However, one thing is clear, and that is the fact that each and every one of them contribute
02:49to increasing the risk of a fatal crash or a crash involving high levels of injury.
02:55The degree to which these different drugs impact the risk of fatal crash is different.
03:01For example, cocaine has a much higher impact on the driver's risk of having a fatal or high
03:07injury crash compared to cannabis.
03:09But the fact that all these drugs have an effect on drivers' ability to safely operate the vehicle
03:15is there and needs to be communicated to drivers.
03:18Some drivers are under the impression that some drugs might actually make them more aware
03:23of their surrounding and improve their ability to drive, whereas the literature and the evidence
03:28around this shows that each and every one of these illicit drugs that are included in the roadside
03:33drug testing program has a detrimental impact on their ability to operate a vehicle safely.
03:39So what sort of communication would be effective in your eyes?
03:43We all know, we might not all know, but I certainly remember, you know, under 05 or under arrest
03:49for drink driving was extremely impactful.
03:52What needs to be done to be impactful for illicit drug driving?
03:56Yeah, we have had very successful behavioral campaigns, educational campaigns in relation to drink driving.
04:02The thing is that the matter was much more straightforward and simpler and much easier to turn into short
04:09and catchy slogans, whereas the issue around drugs is more nuanced.
04:13Perhaps we need to develop behavioral campaigns that would deliver that nuance and target those misperceptions
04:20and misconceptions that are held around the use of drugs and how they impact on drug driving.
04:25They work and they have worked in relation to drink driving.
04:29However, I think a new generation of behavioral campaigns are needed that would specifically target
04:34what people think and what people need to know in relation to drug driving.
04:39I think we need to increase awareness at the same time that we resort to roadside drug testing
04:44and improving the strategies to create deterrence on the road.
04:48I think building the culture from the grassroots would be much more impactful.
04:52OK, and just to round out, you know, you mentioned that there was only 500 drug tests compared to thousands more drink driving tests.
05:01What is it about drug testing that's difficult, that's more expensive?
05:05And can that be changed to make it as easy and cost effective as a breath test?
05:10It is just a much more expensive and costly procedure and a test procedure.
05:15And at the moment with the current technology that we have, it is unlikely that it can be scaled up to the level that we have for random breath testing.
05:24But there are strategies that can be implemented in order to create the level of deterrence with the current level of testing scheme that we have.
05:33For example, there are Facebook pages and social media pages that would target and would track the locations of drug testing on the road and would communicate that to drivers.
05:44Police can monitor that and would rotate locations around those.
05:48And also the fact that when drivers see the drug testing bus, that could have an impact on their thinking about whether they would be likely to get caught or not.
05:59So having more visibility as a form of deterrence without necessarily having to scale up the level of testing could have some impact on how drivers would perceive the likelihood of getting caught.
06:14And just briefly rounding out, Milad, we are speaking about illicit drugs here, but can prescription drugs be caught up in this as well?
06:21Well, prescription drugs are not tested. The test only includes four or three illicit drugs.
06:28It's a completely different story in my view and it requires input from medical professionals.
06:35It is my understanding that when somebody gets prescribed a drug, they will be also communicated how they can manage the risk and how they can use that more responsibly.
06:47So I think it's a completely different story on that front. Right now, I think the use of illicit drugs is probably the priority to be tackled.
06:55Dr. Milad Hagani from Melbourne University, always enjoy speaking with you. Thanks for your time.
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