The Department of Transport and Main Roads has announced that stronger laws to deal with drink drivers come into effect on Friday (10 September).
The Department said under the changes, the alcohol interlock program, which requires sentenced drink drivers to unlock their cars by passing a breath test on a device installed in their vehicle, would be expanded to apply to mid-range drink drivers.
Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Mark Bailey said the tougher laws would send a strong message to drivers who could not separate driving from drinking.
“Last year, 62 people died on Queensland roads because of drink drivers; the year before it was 46 people,” Mr Bailey said.
“Sadly, these numbers could be even worse this year,” he said.
“We know mid-range drink drivers account for more than a quarter of all drink driving offenders and have a crash risk 20 times greater than someone who hasn’t had a drink.”
The Minister said as a result the alcohol ignition interlock program was being extended to drink drivers with a Blood Alcohol Concentration between 0.10 and 0.149.
“Under the new laws, drink drivers will need to have an alcohol interlock in their vehicle until they can show a consistent record of clear breath tests over time,” he said.
“Other changes include requiring all drink driving offenders to complete an education intervention program before they can reapply for their driver’s licence.”
Mr Bailey said the changes were a critical next step towards reducing road trauma caused by drink drivers.
