Police across the Hume Police District will be focusing on road safety across the Queen's Birthday Long Weekend.
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We will continue to focus on the "Fatal Five" - speeding, intoxication (drugs and/or alcohol), failure to wear a seat belt, driver fatigue and distraction.
One area that will be a key focus is impaired driving, including driving with the presence of a prohibited drug in one's system.
The penalties for driving with the presence of an illegal drug include:
- A $581 fine for a first offence of "drive motor vehicle with illicit drug present in oral fluid" as well as a maximum court imposed fine of 20 penalty units - $2200.
- A second and subsequent offence carries a maximum court imposed fine of 30 penalty units - $3300.
The courts also have the discretion to disqualify driver licences for these offences.
The NSW Centre for Road Safety reports that the presence of illegal drugs in fatal crashes is around the same percentage as drinking driving - about 14 per cent of fatal crashes.
Each year, over two-thirds of fatalities in NSW happen on country roads.
More than 70 per cent of the people who die on country roads are country locals, and sadly males account for most of the fatalities.
The fatality rate in country NSW is around four times the rate than in metropolitan NSW.'
