Drug and alcohol testing prevent deaths on Western Australian roads
Announcement posted by Integrity Sampling 08 Feb 2017
There is little doubt that drug and alcohol testing on Western Australian roads is saving lives and it’s staggering to think how high the road toll could be if random roadside testing were not commonplace.
There is little doubt that drug and alcohol testing on Western Australian roads is saving lives and it’s staggering to think how high the road toll could be if random roadside testing were not commonplace.
However, despite the efforts of police and their random testing, the road toll is increasing. In fact, there were more fatalities on WA roads last year than in any other year since 2008. And while the number of random drug tests in particular has risen in recent years, drugs and alcohol are still two of the major factors in fatalities.
There were 194 fatalities on Western Australian roads in 2016, 33 more than the previous year and more than 20 higher than the average for the previous 5 years. Of particular concern is the number of fatalities on regional roads. The roads outside of Perth were responsible for much of the increase in the roadside stats in 2016. There were 32 more deaths on regional roads in 2016 compared with 2015, with 2016 having the dubious honour of recording the most number of regional deaths on WA roads since 2007.
According to Western Australia’s State Government, the biggest factors involved with fatalities on our roads change very little and they include speeding, mobile phone distraction and a failure to wear seats. Plus, of course, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
How big an impact are drugs and alcohol having on Western Australian roads? According to statistics, in one year alone, 2014, 20% of road trauma victims had illegal drugs in their system. That’s 1 in 5 of all road trauma victims. The stats for motorcycle fatalities is even more damming, with 32% of all motorcycle fatalities in 2014 alone having drugs as a contributing factor. The stats for driving while under the influence of alcohol are no better, with around 20% of fatal crashes on Western Australian roads partly attributable to alcohol.
While continuing to conduct drug and alcohol testing on Western Australia’s roads is one of the answers to the imposing question of how to reduce the road toll, another is to focus on the small group of people who continually put themselves and others at risk.
“Most drivers in WA do the right thing on our roads,” says Road Safety Commissioner Kim Papalia,“but we know there is that small group of people who through their attitude and action represent risk on our roads.
“If you continue to drive when you’re tired, if you choose to drive when you’ve been drinking or have used drugs, even prescription medication if it has warnings, if you don’t wear a seatbelt or you travel at a speed that isn’t appropriate to your experience or the circumstances you’re faced with, then regrettably the consequences may be sudden and fatal,” Mr Papalia added.
While the workplace may bear little resemblance to our roads (although for some people the roads are their workplace) there is little doubt that many of the same people who are willing to drink or take drugs and drive on our roads are likely to take the same risk at work.
And there are stats to back this up. For example, we know that around 10% of all fatalities in our workplace involve alcohol or drugs. We know that in one year alone, 2013, 11% of all workplace injuries had alcohol as a factor. We know that between 20 to 25% of all workplace accidents have drugs or alcohol as a contributing factor. And we know that 1 in 5 Australians have gone to work under the influence of alcohol.
All of which makes drug testing and alcohol testing at work, just as important as on our roads!
NOTE: This article was written by Integrity Sampling, Australia’s leading workplace drug and alcohol management team. For more information about Integrity Sampling’s drug and alcohol testing Western Australia services, see the company’s Western Australian and Perth pages.
However, despite the efforts of police and their random testing, the road toll is increasing. In fact, there were more fatalities on WA roads last year than in any other year since 2008. And while the number of random drug tests in particular has risen in recent years, drugs and alcohol are still two of the major factors in fatalities.
There were 194 fatalities on Western Australian roads in 2016, 33 more than the previous year and more than 20 higher than the average for the previous 5 years. Of particular concern is the number of fatalities on regional roads. The roads outside of Perth were responsible for much of the increase in the roadside stats in 2016. There were 32 more deaths on regional roads in 2016 compared with 2015, with 2016 having the dubious honour of recording the most number of regional deaths on WA roads since 2007.
According to Western Australia’s State Government, the biggest factors involved with fatalities on our roads change very little and they include speeding, mobile phone distraction and a failure to wear seats. Plus, of course, driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
How big an impact are drugs and alcohol having on Western Australian roads? According to statistics, in one year alone, 2014, 20% of road trauma victims had illegal drugs in their system. That’s 1 in 5 of all road trauma victims. The stats for motorcycle fatalities is even more damming, with 32% of all motorcycle fatalities in 2014 alone having drugs as a contributing factor. The stats for driving while under the influence of alcohol are no better, with around 20% of fatal crashes on Western Australian roads partly attributable to alcohol.
While continuing to conduct drug and alcohol testing on Western Australia’s roads is one of the answers to the imposing question of how to reduce the road toll, another is to focus on the small group of people who continually put themselves and others at risk.
“Most drivers in WA do the right thing on our roads,” says Road Safety Commissioner Kim Papalia,“but we know there is that small group of people who through their attitude and action represent risk on our roads.
“If you continue to drive when you’re tired, if you choose to drive when you’ve been drinking or have used drugs, even prescription medication if it has warnings, if you don’t wear a seatbelt or you travel at a speed that isn’t appropriate to your experience or the circumstances you’re faced with, then regrettably the consequences may be sudden and fatal,” Mr Papalia added.
While the workplace may bear little resemblance to our roads (although for some people the roads are their workplace) there is little doubt that many of the same people who are willing to drink or take drugs and drive on our roads are likely to take the same risk at work.
And there are stats to back this up. For example, we know that around 10% of all fatalities in our workplace involve alcohol or drugs. We know that in one year alone, 2013, 11% of all workplace injuries had alcohol as a factor. We know that between 20 to 25% of all workplace accidents have drugs or alcohol as a contributing factor. And we know that 1 in 5 Australians have gone to work under the influence of alcohol.
All of which makes drug testing and alcohol testing at work, just as important as on our roads!
NOTE: This article was written by Integrity Sampling, Australia’s leading workplace drug and alcohol management team. For more information about Integrity Sampling’s drug and alcohol testing Western Australia services, see the company’s Western Australian and Perth pages.