Speed The Most Popular Vice Among Drug Drivers

The slogan 'speed kills' may have taken on a new meaning this week, as new figures released by Victoria Police this week show that speed is by far the most frequently detected drug in roadside drug testing.

It has been nearly six years since Victoria Police’s random drug testing program started, and with more than 122,000 drivers tested for drugs, almost 2,000 have tested positive.

Of those 2000, 83 percent of motorists were found to have the drug 'speed' in their systems, followed by cannabis at 29 percent and MDMA or 'ectasy' at 15 percent.

“Drivers who have recently consumed cannabis or an amphetamine-based substance are at the same risk as having a crash as a driver with a blood alcohol concentration level above 0.05,” Victoria Police Traffic Drug and Alcohol Inspector Martin Boorman said.

Police in Victoria have tested 22,473 drivers for drugs in the past six months, with 336 motorists returning a positive result. Some 87 percent were male, 35 percent were under 26 years-old and 28 percent were detected in rural Victoria.

According to Victoria Police, Victoria was the first jurisdiction in the world to begin testing drivers randomly for illicit drug use, using a model that has since been adopted by police forces around the world.