In July 1976, legislation allowing Random Breath Testing (RBT) came in to force in Victoria, this being the first State in Australia. Initial operations were at low levels, but more intensified operations were undertaken in Melbourne in 1978 and 1979. During the 1980s RBT progressively increased to about 500,000 tests pa. In 1990, 13 new high visibility "booze buses" were introduced, supported by a massive publicity campaign. Police resources for RBT were also greatly increased. This enabled the number of RBT tests to be increased to above 1 million pa. The proportion of drivers killed (and tested) whose BAC exceeded 0.05% has progressively been reduced from 50% in 1977, to about 25% in the 1990s. Evaluation of the effect of RBT on casualties is discussed. (A)
Samenvatting