MUARC Baseline Research Program to Assess the Impact of Drug Use on Road Safety: Report 3 – Understanding the patterns and motivations for drug-driving behaviour and community attitudes towards addressing drug-driving in Victoria, Australia.

With drug-driving representing a significant road safety concern, this report set out to document the use of alcohol and other drugs in the Victorian community and to provide an understanding of the correlates of drug-driving behavior. Of interest were community attitudes, motivations, and knowledge of both drug use and perceived risks associated with drug-driving. With a view toward improving road safety, community support for drug-driving countermeasures and their perceived effectiveness were examined. In line with the current roadside drug testing regime in Victoria, emphasis was placed on outcomes that related to driving whilst under the influence of cannabis (THC), ecstasy (MDMA) and amphetamines, particularly Ice.

The research was conducted in two parts: 1) 10 interviews with hospital and community-based drug and alcohol treatment specialists in the period September - October 2017; 2) A population-based survey of the Victorian community was undertaken. Survey data was collected in the January 2018 – March 2018 period and 1852 individuals completed the survey.

Interviews with drug and alcohol specialists highlighted the complexity of drug use and its relationship to driving. A distinction was made between recreational users, high-functioning regular users and dependent users of illicit substances. Treatment needs were seen to differ based on the drug used. The detection of drug-driving was seen be an opportunity for intervention, noting that a therapeutic-justice model would likely to be the most effective for dependent drug-users rather than a purely sanctions-based approach.

Most (88.8%) survey respondents reported lifetime alcohol use with 43.3% having used an illicit drug(s) or misused prescription medication; 10.7% reported never having tried alcohol or other drugs. Of those who reported having ever tried a drug other than alcohol (801, 43.3% of sample), 23.0% indicated having driven whilst suspecting that they were under the influence, with 40.8% of respondents reporting they had done so within the last 12 months. Support for sanction- and therapeutic-based countermeasures for drug-driving differed depending on individual history of use and type of drug used but was nonetheless high.

These findings can be used to inform future initiatives aimed at reducing the incidence of drug-driving in Victoria.