Lit_Match

180,000km..one Winnebago
THE NSW Government will try to scare drug-using drivers off the roads with the use of a single, unmarked Winnebago motor home.
10-28-06|news.com.au|By Stephen Corby

The State's only roadside drug-testing bus will be responsible for policing 4.5 million licence holders in NSW and its patrol area will cover 180,000km of road.

As well as a drug-testing lab, the $350,000 Winnebago has CCTV, kitchen and bathroom facilities and a flat-screen TV.

It is unmarked because police are hoping to blend in with van-loving "grey nomads'' to catch drivers by surprise when the bus hits the road for the Christmas holidays.

Offenders will face fines of up to $2200, prison sentences of up to nine months and unlimited licence suspensions.

Opposition police spokesman Mike Gallacher has dubbed the drug bus a "Iemmabago'', after Premier Morris Iemma.

"It's an absolute stunt, nothing more,'' a spokesman for Mr Gallacher said.

"They just wanted some nice pictures of a nice big bus. It's a publicity stunt for a government that will do anything to take the horrific mess they've created within every portfolio off the front pages.

"Obviously, there's a serious problem with drug-driving, but having one bus circling a state the size of NSW isn't going to solve that problem.''

Victoria introduced roadside drug-testing in December, 2004 after figures from the coroner's office revealed that one in three drivers killed on the state's roads had drugs in their system.

In its first year, the program tested 13,172 drivers for the presence of amphetamines and THC - the active ingredient in cannabis - and had a positive strike rate of one car in every 43 and one truck in every 54.

Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby described the rate as "exceptionally high''.

"When you compare it to random breath-testing, across the state the strike rate for that is one in 225,'' he said.

Victoria will have three highly visible dual-capacity buses on the road this Christmas, testing for both alcohol and drugs, with the mouth-swab drug test now also able to pick up ecstasy. There is still no reliable way to test for heroin or cocaine in saliva.

By June 30 next year there will be eight buses operating across Victoria.

Mr Ashby agreed that NSW was a massive area to be covered by just one bus.

"It depends what advice they've got - how they're going to approach it. We know they are very interested in our program,'' he said.

A spokeswoman for the NSW Police said it was too early to talk about roadside drug-testing.

"There's no comment we can provide at this stage,'' she said.

A spokesman for Police Minister John Watkins said legislation providing police with the power to conduct roadside drug-testing was passed on October 18.

The NSW program would initially target truck drivers and dance parties.