On Sunday 1 November the Land Transport Amendment Act 2009 comes into force. From this day on it will be illegal to drive while impaired by drugs.
If Police suspect a person is a drugged driver, they will have the power to require the driver to undergo a compulsory impairment test. If this is unsatisfactory, the driver will be required to provide a blood sample.
The compulsory impairment test will be administered by specially trained officers. There are already 319 specially trained Police Officers ready to conduct this testing and more will be trained in the coming weeks.
Regardless of the time of day or the day of the week, trained Police staff are ready to act to apprehend and prosecute drugged drivers.
Police do not expect this to have any affect on the vast majority of drivers.
ENDS
For further information visit www.police.govt.nz or www.mot.govt.nz