Truck drivers in Victoria face frequent drug tests as police step up campaign to cut road trauma in regional areas
July 8, 2011
Truck drivers travelling in Victoria will be frequently drug tested as police step up their campaign to cut road trauma in regional areas.
The three-year-long road trauma reduction strategy will address the over-representation of rural Victoria in the annual road toll figures.
Police Minister Peter Ryan says drivers need to be encouraged to take basic precautions to protect themselves and other road users as 163 people have died in road accidents last year, which was an increase of 13 percent on the previous year.
“Research indicates that country drivers often have a more relaxed attitude in relation to seatbelts, drink and drug driving and obeying the speed limit, which is a significant part of the problem and something that must change.”
Ryan says police enforcement in country areas will vary, including undercover drink-driving tests, expanded roadside drug testing and increased use of speed detection devices.