From May 2019 in New South Wales, drink drivers who are first-time, lower range offenders will receive an immediate three-month licence suspension and a fine of $561. New South Wales Minister for Transport and Roads Andrew Constance said this reform makes it clear if you break the law, you will pay the price.
“We are taking a zero-tolerance approach to drink and drug driving,” Minister Constance commented “Drivers who have an illegal level of alcohol in their blood or have used illegal drugs have no place on the road.”
The Minister said that under the new laws, simpler and more certain penalties will also apply for drug drivers. The Minister went on to add that offenders who drive with the presence of illicit drugs for the first time will receive a $561 fine and a three-month licence suspension if the offence is confirmed by laboratory analysis.
Minister Constance said that alcohol-related crashes claimed the lives of at least 68 people on NSW roads in 2018, accounting for nearly one in five road deaths, including 55 lives lost on country roads. Fatalities from crashes involving a drug driver accounted for similar numbers of deaths.