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Australia has made main progress in curbing drunk driving. A long time of random breath testing, enforcement and highly effective social media campaigns have lower alcohol-related highway deaths considerably.
But new information present extra deadly crashes now contain medication than alcohol.
So, how has drug driving turn out to be so prevalent regardless of strict legal guidelines? Why has deterrence succeeded for alcohol however faltered for medication? And what coverage and behavioral modifications can reverse this rising supply of highway trauma?
Nationwide traits
Nationwide crash information verify the altering face of highway threat.
Between 2010 and 2023, deadly crashes involving drug driving rose from 7.6% to 16.8%—a rise that makes drug driving the most typical threat think about deadly crashes.
Throughout the identical interval, crashes linked to drunk driving fell from 21.6% to 12%, whereas these linked to not sporting seat belts dropped from 15.3% to 14.7%.
A breakdown of drivers and motorcyclists exhibits how drastically the steadiness has shifted.
Amongst drivers, the share of fatalities involving an unlawful blood alcohol focus has fallen steadily—from about 30% to 14% between 2008 and 2023.
Amongst motorcyclists it dropped even additional, from 27% to 10%.
But over the identical interval, deaths the place medication had been detected surged in each teams—roughly quadrupling for drivers and motorcyclists alike, now accounting for about one in 5 motorcyclist fatalities.
State-level information
Final 12 months in Queensland, there have been 49 highway fatalities involving medication, in contrast with 42 involving alcohol.
In July 2023, the state expanded roadside screening to incorporate cocaine, with greater than 1,400 constructive detections since.
In New South Wales, drug driving prices have risen greater than 30-fold since 2008. Testing volumes have elevated, however so, too, has the share of constructive outcomes, from roughly 2% to peaks close to 18%.
Toxicology data verify a parallel rise within the proportion of highway deaths the place medication are detected in comparison with alcohol, indicating the development can’t be defined by the rise in testing quantity alone.
In Victoria, about 3% of licensed drivers are examined for medication every year, concentrating on hashish, methamphetamine and MDMA.
South Australia has simply introduced its testing regime might be expanded to incorporate screening for cocaine.
How does testing work?
Drivers are first screened for alcohol when they’re stopped. If no alcohol is detected, police might ask for an oral-fluid take a look at utilizing a saliva swab.
The method detects hint quantities of illicit medication, not impairment itself.
The swab collects saliva, producing an preliminary consequence inside minutes. If a take a look at exhibits a constructive studying, a second pattern is taken and despatched to a laboratory for affirmation.
In contrast to alcohol testing, which measures a driver’s blood-alcohol focus in opposition to an outlined authorized restrict, drug testing operates underneath a zero-tolerance rule.
This implies any measurable quantity of the focused medication—hashish, methamphetamine, MDMA or cocaine in most states—is an offense.
Roadside drug assessments are extra advanced and costlier than breath assessments.
In 2024, Australian police carried out about 10.3 million random breath assessments, leading to roughly 58,000 constructive detections—a constructive price of 0.6%.
In contrast, there have been solely 500,000 roadside drug assessments however they yielded greater than 52,000 constructive outcomes—a tenfold greater detection price.
Behavioral elements
Latest research present drug driving has grown primarily for 3 overlapping causes:
notion amongst drivers they will not get caught
notion of weaker social stigma round drug driving
drug testing remaining far much less frequent than alcohol testing.
Many drivers consider they will not be caught. Publicity to roadside drug testing stays low—in some states, fewer than 2% of licensed motorists are examined in a 12 months.
In the meantime, some social media customers ship out “police-location” alerts which will help different drivers keep away from enforcement websites.
These elements decrease the perceived threat of apprehension.
Latest Australian analysis additionally discovered a stark distinction in how drivers view alcohol and drug impairment.
Individuals usually described drunk driving as extra harmful and socially unacceptable whereas drug driving was usually thought of much less dangerous and fewer more likely to entice police consideration.
Misconceptions and lack of knowledge in regards to the impairment results of medication may contribute: drug customers usually understand their driving capability as unimpaired.
In actuality, the medication most frequently detected have very completely different impairment profiles—however all, in their very own methods, enhance the chance of a crash.
Stimulants corresponding to methamphetamine or cocaine could make drivers extra aggressive and reckless. Hashish slows response time, impairs folks’s judgment of time and distance, and reduces coordination, notably inside the first few hours after use.
Utilizing medication collectively, or combining them with alcohol, additional amplifies impairment.
One of many TAC’s public schooling campaigns concentrating on occasional hashish customers.
What may be completed?
Australia’s success in curbing drunk driving got here from the right combination of legal guidelines, visibility and social messaging.
Tackling drug driving would require the identical steadiness however tailored to new realities.
4 methods may make a distinction:
Testing strategically. Sheer quantity is not sufficient. Enforcement ought to concentrate on unpredictable, data-driven deployments—concentrating on high-risk occasions, routes and driver teams. Deterrence improves when testing assets are used strategically.
Creating extra visibility. Drivers do not must be examined to be deterred. Repeatedly seeing roadside operations can elevate the perceived threat of being caught.
Countering evasion networks. Social media platforms and group chats that warn customers about testing areas undermine deterrence. Police can counter this by monitoring these alerts and rotating testing websites and occasions.
Reframing the message. Public campaigns should spotlight how lengthy impairment lasts, the dangers of blending substances and the phantasm of management many drug-using drivers report. Australia’s iconic anti-drunk driving slogans—corresponding to “if you drink, then drive, you’re a bloody idiot”—helped construct highly effective social norms. A brand new era of drug driving campaigns might want to do the identical.
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Australian drug driving deaths have surpassed drunk driving. Here is the way to deal with it (2025, November 18)
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