Drink Driving

Go To Court’s Legal Hotline received a large number of phone calls from the public asking about the legality of refusing a breath test in Queensland. From our investigations, these questions were prompted by a viral YouTube video. In the video a man, presumably the Youtube uploader, repeatedly asked a police officer conducting a random…

Drink driving, driving whilst intoxicated (DWI) and driving under the influence (DUI) generally refer to the same offence. This being that a person has enough alcohol in their system to affect their driving. The consequence of DWI offences range significantly across Australia’s states and territories, and it is important to know the difference. Queensland In…

While falling short of the drink driving records we have reported in previous posts, and which involved open licence holders, a learner driver in Melbourne has possibly just achieved a record for inexperienced drivers. Around 2:00am on Friday, police noticed a car driving erratically along Doncaster Road through Donvale. It was travelling at only 20km/h.…

On 2 June 2016 we reported on charges laid against Queensland Member of Parliament Billy Gordon relating to drink driving and unlicensed driving. Mr Gordon was driving from Kuranda to Cairns when he was pulled over for a random breath test. He reportedly recorded a blood alcohol content reading of 0.094 – almost twice the…

The blood alcohol limit for drivers with a full licence in all Australian states and territories is 0.05, while for other licences it is zero. Every driver and driver trainer can be breath tested in defined circumstances, with slight differences in when and where you can be tested and the penalties for refusing between New…

A charge of drink driving has reportedly been laid against a Queensland Member of Parliament after police stopped him for a random breath test on Wednesday night. It was claimed that Billy Gordon, the Member for Cook, had been watching the State of Origin match in Kuranda and was driving back to Cairns along the…

While statistics are still being collated, as a result of the Easter Road Safety Campaigns across Australia, over the Easter long weekend, preliminary figures suggest that the number of drivers caught with drugs in their system was markedly higher than in previous years. In part, this may be due to an increase in roadside testing.…

Late last year, a woman from Queensland’s Gold Coast was awarded the dubious title of Australia’s most intoxicated drink driver having recorded a blood alcohol content (BAC) reading of 0.48, nearly 10 times the legal BAC limit. Her record has, unfortunately, now been broken with a New South Wales woman recording a BAC of 0.486. The…

The Interlock Program in WA (Western Australia) is a restricted driving program for those convicted of serious or repeat alcohol-related driving offences. It aims to improve road safety in the state by preventing drink drivers from operating a vehicle while over the prescribed limit, and by channelling them into assessment and treatment programs. The program…

Once a voluntary scheme, Interlock Orders in NSW (New South Wales) have, since 1 February 2015, become mandatory for the courts, subject to very few exemptions, when sentencing those convicted of particular drink driving offences. The orders require the driver to install and use an interlock device in order to resume driving earlier than would…

On 9 February 2016, the ACT parliament passed the Road Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 (No 2). While yet to be notified, this new legislation brings with it a number of changes to drink and drug driving laws in the ACT including a significant change to the powers of police to test drivers for alcohol…

Authorities were left dumbfounded after a Gold Coast woman found behind the wheel of her car recorded a breath alcohol reading of 0.48 – almost 10 times the legal limit. Paramedics found the woman passed out in her car outside a Runaway Bay cafe. She was transport to Gold Coast University Hospital where blood tests confirmed…

The New South Wales government has today launched its first drug-driving campaign in the wake of statistical evidence showing many more drivers are being caught behind the wheel under the effects of illicit drugs than they are under the effects of alcohol. For this year alone, while 1 in every 305 random breath tests (RBT)…

South Australia has implemented legislation in the Road Traffic Act 1961 and Road Traffic (Miscellaneous) Regulations 2014 that regulates drink driving on South Australian roads. These laws not only give police the power to conduct breath and saliva tests, but also empower them to request a blood sample to determine whether the alleged offender has…

The legislation in Tasmania that relates to breath, saliva and blood testing is found in the Road Safety (Alcohol & Drugs) Act 1970. This law sets out the rights that police have when exercising their power to conduct random breath or saliva testing. It also explains when and how a police officer can request an…

The Drink Driving laws in Western Australia provide considerable detail as to the rights that police officers have when conducting breath/saliva/blood tests, and also the rights of the individual if they choose to refuse any such requests. The penalties imposed by the Western Australian legislation where a person refuses to provide a blood sample usually…