Drink and drug driving
Drink and drug driving are serious offences and major contributors to crashes and road fatalities. It is also an offence to refuse a drug or alcohol test. Penalties can include:
- loss of licence (immediate suspension, disqualification periods)
- fines
- imprisonment and a requirement to install an alcohol interlock device.
Penalties for combined drink and drug driving offences are higher to reflect the severity of the offence.
If you’ve been convicted of or found guilty of drink or drug driving you must complete an approved alcohol and drug awareness course. For more information, please see alcohol and drug awareness course.
Drink driving
Drink driving is a significant road safety issue and is a focus area of the current ACT Road Safety Action Plan (PDF 637KB).
Drinking alcohol affects judgement and decision making. It can:
- increases the effects of fatigue
- slows reaction time
- reduces attention span and visual acuity.
Drink driving is often combined with other unsafe habits such as not wearing a seatbelt or speeding. Even a small amount of alcohol in a person’s system can affect their driving ability and result in a crash. Evidence shows that the risk of a crash doubles when driving with an alcohol level of 0.05 and the risk of fatal crashes increases even more.
If you are planning to drink, don’t drive. Remember that ACT Policing conducts random breath testing to detect drink drivers. ACT drivers can expect to be breath tested anywhere, any time.
There are 4 levels of offences for drink driving in the ACT based on blood alcohol concentration. Penalties vary depending on the type of offence and are significantly higher for repeat and combined drink and drug driving offences.
Blood or breath alcohol concentrationÂ
Blood or breath alcohol concentration
Blood or breath alcohol concentration or BAC is a measurement of grams of alcohol per 100mL of blood. A measurement of 0.05 blood alcohol concentration means your body contains 0.05g of alcohol per 100mL of blood or 210L of exhaled breath.
The blood alcohol concentration limit for most drivers in the ACT is 0.05g of alcohol in 100mL of blood or 210L of exhaled breath.
As soon as you start drinking, your blood alcohol concentration begins to rise. It takes up to 2 hours after you have stopped drinking for your blood alcohol concentration to reach its highest level. Your blood alcohol concentration is affected by a range of factors, including:
- how much you drink and quickly you drink
- when you last ate
- your muscle to fat ratio and your weight
- the type of drink you are consuming and
- any underlying medical conditions.
Counting standard drinks before you drive to guess your blood alcohol concentration is difficult and inaccurate. Be safe and don’t drive if you’re drinking.
Special drivers
The blood alcohol consumption limit for special drivers is zero. It is an offence for a special driver to drive a motor vehicle if the person has any alcohol in their body. You are classed as a special driver if you:
Access Canberra manages the ACT’s driver licencing program and has further information on the ACT’s licensing requirements and conditions.
Breath and blood testing
Breath and blood testing
ACT Policing conduct random breath testing to deter and detect drink drivers. ACT drivers can expect to be breath tested anywhere, any time.
If a breath screening test indicates that you are over the legal limit, you may be taken into custody for a breath analysis. This is usually done at a police station.
You may be required to give a blood sample if:
- you cannot give a breath sample for health reasons,
- a breath analysis machine is not available
- you have been admitted to hospital following an accident.
If an accident occurs but it is not clear who was driving the car when the accident happened, ACT Policing can request a sample from anyone in the car, they may also test people suspected of committing a culpable driving offence.
It is an offence to refuse to give a sample of breath or blood. Penalties can include loss of licence (immediate suspension, disqualification periods), fines, imprisonment, and a requirement to install an alcohol interlock device.
Drug driving
The ACT has a zero-tolerance approach to drug driving. It is an offence to have any drug (illicit or not) in your system if it influences your ability to have proper control of a vehicle. This includes some prescription medications. Like alcohol, drugs affect your ability to drive and significantly increases the risk of a crash.
Changes to personal drug use laws, such as the introduction of the ACT’s personal use of cannabis laws, do not change the ACT Government’s zero-tolerance approach to drug driving. If you’re caught driving with any drug in your system, you could face heavy fines, licence disqualification and even imprisonment.
Roadside drug testing is in operation for methamphetamine, MDMA or ecstasy, and cannabis products that contain delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). From 1 January 2025, roadside drug testing for cocaine will also be in operation.
In addition, you can be charged with the offence of driving under the influence outside of a positive roadside indication of illicit drugs. This offence covers both legal and illegal drugs, e.g. methadone, morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl, benzodiazepines and heroin.
Dangers of drug driving
Dangers of drug driving
Driving with drugs in your system is incredibly dangerous and greatly affects your ability to be safe on our roads. There is a range of evidence linking drugs to elevated crash risk.
Driving with drugs in your system can:
- slow down your reaction time
- cause a distorted view of time and distance
- cause you to make dangerous decisions
- increasing the chance you’ll harm yourself, your passengers or other road users.
Drugs can also stimulate your nervous system which can lead to a reduced attention span and the sudden onset of fatigue as the stimulant effects wear off.
You should not drive after taking any amount of illicit drugs or while under the influence of a drug, illicit or not.
Roadside drug testing
Roadside drug testing
ACT Policing conduct random roadside drug testing to deter and drug drink drivers. ACT drivers can expect to be tested anywhere, any time.
Roadside drug tests indicate the presence of methamphetamine, MDMA or ecstasy, and cannabis that contains delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). From 1 January 2025, roadside drug testing for cocaine will also be in operation.
If a screening test indicates that you have the presence of one of these drugs in your system, you may be taken into custody for further analysis. This is usually done at a police station.
You may be required to give a blood sample if:
- you cannot give an oral fluid sample for health reasons
- a analysis machine is not available
- you have been admitted to hospital following an accident.
If an accident occurs but it is not clear who was driving the car when the accident happened, ACT Policing can request a sample from anyone in the car, they may also test people suspected of committing a culpable driving offence.
It is an offence to refuse to provide a sample of oral fluid or blood.
Penalties can include:
- loss of licence (immediate suspension, disqualification periods)
- fines
- imprisonment, and a requirement to install an alcohol interlock device if the offence also includes alcohol.
Combined drink and drug driving offence
It is an offence in the ACT for you to drive with the presence of both alcohol and drug/s in your system. The penalties for this combined drink and drug driving offence are significantly higher than those for separate drug or alcohol driving offences to reflect the severity and potentially fatal behaviour of combined drink and drug driving.
Penalties
See below for details of the penalties for drink driving, drug driving, and combined drink and drug driving.
Drink driving penalties
Drink driving penalties
There are 4 levels of drink driving offence in the ACT based on blood alcohol concentration.
| Offence | Penalties |
|---|
Level 1 offence (less than 0.05g blood alcohol concentration) | - Maximum penalty for first offender: 25 penalty units*
- 3 month minimum disqualification
- 6 month default disqualification
- Repeat offender: 50 penalty units*
- 6 month minimum disqualification
- 12 month default disqualification
|
Level 2 offence (0.05g-0.08g blood alcohol concentration) | - Maximum penalty for first offender: 25 penalty units*
- 3 month minimum disqualification
- 6 month default disqualification
- Repeat offender: 50 penalty units*
- 6 month minimum disqualification
- 12 month default disqualification
|
Level 3 offence (0.08g-0.15g blood alcohol concentration) | - Maximum penalty for first offender: 50 penalty units* and/or 6 months imprisonment
- 6 month minimum disqualification
- 12 month default disqualification
- Repeat offender: 100 penalty units* and/or 12 months imprisonment
- 12 month minimum disqualification
|
Level 4 offence (0.15g or more blood alcohol concentration) | - Maximum penalty for first offender: 75 penalty units* and/or 9 months imprisonment
- 9 month minimum disqualification
- 18 month default disqualification
- Repeat offender: 150 penalty units* and/or 18 months imprisonment
- 18 month minimum disqualification
- 3 year default disqualification
|
*Please see the Legislation Act 2001 for current penalty units.
Court-imposed maximum financial penalties for drink driving can be as high as $24,000 for level 4 repeat offenders.
Drug driving penalties
Drug driving penalties
The ACT has a zero-tolerance approach to drug driving. Penalties apply for both prescription drugs and illicit drugs.
| Maximum penalty for first offender | Repeat offender |
|---|
25 penalty units* - 3 month minimum disqualification
- 6 month default disqualification
| 50 penalty units* and/or 6 months imprisonment - 6 month minimum disqualification
- 12 month default disqualification
|
*Please see the Legislation Act 2001 for current penalty units.
Court-imposed maximum financial penalties for drug driving can be as high as $32,000 for repeat offenders.
Combined drug and alcohol penaltiesÂ
Combined drug and alcohol penalties
Penalties for combined drink and drug driving are significantly higher than for separate offences. This reflects the severity and increased risk of combined drink and drug driving.
| Offence | Penalties |
|---|
Combined drug and level 1 alcohol offence (less than 0.05g blood alcohol concentration) | - Maximum penalty for first offender: 50 penalty units*
- 6 month minimum disqualification
- 12 month default disqualification
- Repeat offender: 100 penalty units* and/or 12 months imprisonment
- 12 month minimum disqualification
- 2 year default disqualification
|
Combined drug and level 2 alcohol offence (0.05g-0.08g blood alcohol concentration) | - Maximum penalty for first offender: 50 penalty units*
- 6 month minimum disqualification
- 12 month default disqualification
- Repeat offender: 100 penalty units* and/or 12 months imprisonment
- 12 month minimum disqualification
- 2 year default disqualification
|
Combined drug and level 3 alcohol offence (0.08g-0.15g blood alcohol concentration) | - Maximum penalty for first offender: 75 penalty units* and/or 9 months imprisonment
- 9 month minimum disqualification
- 18 month default disqualification
- Repeat offender: 150 penalty units* and/or 18 months imprisonment
- 18 month minimum disqualification
- 3 year default disqualification
|
Combined drug and level 4 alcohol offence (0.15g or more blood alcohol concentration) | - Maximum penalty for first offender: 100 penalty units* and/or 12 months imprisonment
- 12 month minimum disqualification
- 2 year default disqualification
- Repeat offender: 200 penalty units* and/or 2 years imprisonment
- 2 year minimum disqualification
- 4 year default disqualification
|
* Please see the Legislation Act 2001 for current penalty units.
Mandatory interlock conditionÂ
ACT drivers need to apply for a probationary licence following a period of court ordered licence disqualification.
If you’ve been convicted of a drug or alcohol driving offence and meet any of the below criteria, you may also require an interlock condition on your probationary driver licence following a period of licence disqualification.
- You were convicted in the ACT of a high-range drink driving offence (0.15 blood alcohol concentration or higher).
- You were convicted in the ACT of a combined drink and drug driving offence.
- You have had 2 previous drink driving offences in the past 5 years.
- You have refused a breath or blood sample.
You may be eligible to apply for a probationary licence with an interlock condition if you have completed at least half of the disqualification period and are not otherwise disqualified from holding or obtaining a driver licence.
Drivers convicted, or found guilty of drink or drug driving in an ACT court must complete an approved alcohol and drug awareness course. For more information, please see alcohol and drug awareness course.
Access Canberra manages the ACT’s driver licencing program and has further information on the ACT’s licensing requirements and interlock scheme.
