Detouring Civil Liberties? Drug-Driving Laws in Australia

© 2010, Routledge. All rights reserved. This article provides an overview of the new drug-driving laws that exist in Australia. It explains that, like drink-driving offences, the drug-driving laws prima facie infringe civil liberties. Yet these infringements are permissible, providing the laws promote road safety and thereby the civil liberty of the right to life. The article then analyses empirical evidence concerning the effects of different illicit drugs on driving skills. It is argued that it is not practical or necessary to require this evidence base to match the standard reached with respect to alcohol. However, suggestions are made as to how drugdriving legislation could better promote road safety, including by recognising the interrelationships between drug-driving, drug-dependency and unemployment. The final section of the article critically examines aspects of Tasmanian law, which appear to focus more upon drug law enforcement than the enhancement of road safety.