Police will roll out roadside drug testing across New Zealand from next Wednesday, using tongue swabs to identify drivers under the influence of cannabis, methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine.
Drivers who return a positive result will have their licence suspended for 12 hours on the spot. Transport Minister Chris Bishop announced the nationwide expansion, saying "if you take drugs and drive, you are putting innocent lives at risk, and we will not tolerate it".
Police Minister Mark Mitchell said the new testing regime would give officers a tool to address a factor in serious crashes. Drug-impaired drivers are involved in around 30% of road fatalities.
Testing process and timing
The initial screening uses a tongue swab with three absorbent pads that checks for four drug types. Results take at least five minutes to process.
If the first test returns positive, officers conduct a second saliva sample that must remain in the driver's mouth for up to 10 minutes. A third roadside test follows to check for false positives.
Wellington District road policing manager Bradley Allen said police seize keys when the third test confirms a positive result, and typically drive the person home. Drivers are free to leave if the third test comes back negative, while police await laboratory confirmation.
Laboratory analysis can detect up to 25 substances and takes around two weeks to complete.
Penalties and scale
Drivers whose lab sample tests positive for a single drug face a $250 fine and 50 demerit points. Those who test positive for two or more drugs receive a $400 fine and 75 demerit points. Drivers who refuse testing face the same penalty as those detected with multiple drugs.
Infringement notices arrive by mail around two weeks after the roadside stop.
Police aim to conduct 50,000 tests annually once the programme reaches full scale nationwide.
Wellington pilot results
The programme ran as a trial in Wellington from December last year. Officers conducted around 3000 tests during the pilot phase, with roughly 100 drivers returning a positive result.