Following media reports of the use of drugs - especially stimulants - by the drivers of heavy vehicles, the New South Wales Parliamentary Committee on Road Safety recommended that the feasibility of random testing of heavy-vehicle drivers for drugs should be investigated. This paper reports such an investigation. Random testing of drivers for drugs presents problems which are fundamentally different from random alcohol testing programmes. To be practical, certain drugs would have to be identified and their use by drivers made totally illegal. Preliminary tests on urine samples taken at the roadside would have to be allied to follow-up confirmatory tests if the results were to be used for law enforcement. Costs of introducing such measures are estimated. Feasibility, as opposed to practicability, would depend on integration of technical problems, financial realities, respect for human rights and dignity, communication and education.
Abstract