November 10, 2025 • 6 mins
The Government has revealed more details about new road safety measures.
From December, police in Wellington will do random roadside saliva tests - screening for cannabis, methamphetamine, MDMA, and cocaine.
Drivers coming back positive will need to do a second test that checks for 25 substances.
Transport Minister Chris Bishop says the swab could detect drug use several hours beforehand.
"I think it picks up recent usage, so a week or so ago - no. But if you smoked up the night before and you're out on the road in the morning, then it will pick it up."
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now police are going to start the roadside checks to
find drug drivers from December. We've finally got a date.
They're going to be using the saliva tests to check
for four drugs cannabis, meth, MDMA and ecstasy. Anyone who
tests positive will be retested and if the result is
confirmed then they will be suspended for driving or from
driving rather for twelve hours. And Chris Bishop is the
(00:20):
Transport minister responsible for this. Hey bish, hello, Okay, how
do you know if someone's impaired with name a drug cannabis.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Well, there'll be a test obviously, and it's a saliva
test and you do it at the roadside, and you
do it twice, and if you test positive twice, you are.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
A simple What does a positive test necessarily mean that
you're impaired? You know, because with alcohol you can test
positive for alcohol, but you're only impaired at a certain level.
Is it going to have this much nuance in it?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, the point is that we don't want people driving
after having done pot. That's the whole point. We don't
want people doing cocaine, don't want people doing meth then
driving that there's no safe limit at which you can
do those drugs and drive. You know, around thirty percent
of all road deaths on our road every year involving
and pairing drug So if you're taking drugs and you're driving,
you are putting lives at risk in the same way
(01:13):
that if you you know, you, you know, have four
or five beers and then go for a drive, you're
also putting these on.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah, but if you have one beer, you're not putting
people's lives at risk. Right, So does a teaest I mean,
I guess time would be the most important thing here,
can it? Can it tell that you've like how how
recently would you have had to smoke pot for it
to pick that pick up like you'd smoke pot.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
I don't know, because I'm not I'm not a pot user.
The Minister won't surprise you to learn that. I think
I think it picks it up. I think it picks
up recent usage, so like you know, a week, a
week or so ago. No, but if you if you've
smoked up the night before and you go on the
road in the morning, then it will pick it up. Right.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
So if you've got somebody who who I don't know,
goes home from work, has a rage on a Friday night,
has to get up for work on a Saturday morning.
They may in fact still be impaired according to the test.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Well possibly, but the point. The point is this right
to send a really clear message to the public that
you can't do drugs and drive and at the moment
there is no way of checking at all.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
You don't need to convince me of this. I'm one
hundred percent on board. I'm just trying to understand the logistics.
So then what happens then obviously you go to a
secondary test once it's gone yep, there's a positive. Then
you get a blood test or something.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So that a sample is taken and sent off to
the lab for a proper laboratory test. And we've designed
this with ESR or what's now hoopt your science, but
previously PERCENTESR to develop it because we've had parliaments had
two goes at this before. Right, this is like the
third time round where we sort of screwed it up.
The last government stuffed it up. So we have designed
(02:52):
it with scientists in mind. We've looked at what they
do in Australia and the standard on oral fluid testing,
so it's I think good to go and then the
full the full test and the lab you know, it
gives you the full monty of exactly what what you've
taken and actually actually tests for more drugs, test for
sixty five drugs before that are potentially so if.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
You stop, they're going they're going to run the whole
lot of them on you if you test positive for
the week.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, there's twenty there's twenty five whose names I do
not understand. There's a whole lot of Oza, lambs and
zza pems and knocks of those of beams names.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
You they'd like sleeping drugs, don't a whole lot.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
There's a whole lot of different ones. Well you know
more than I. I don't know. You might know more
than that. I read a lot.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I read a lot. No, But seriously, what happens then
if like, at what point do you discuite? Do you
stand a driver down for twelve for twelve hours? Is
it when they test positive at the mouth swap or
when it comes back from the lab, So you get.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
You get you get disqualified from driving for twelve months
after the second positive test at the roadside, and then
if there's a positive test through the left test, you
get an infringement, notice, which happens later. But the point
is if you test positive twice at the roadside, you
want to get people off the road, right But.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Hang on, did you say twelve months or twelve hours?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Twelve hours? Sorry? Sorry?
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Twelve okay? So if you bangang two tests at the roadside,
you've definitely smoked some pot recently. Twelve hours stand down,
and then after that you could be in more trouble
if we see other stuff in your blood. Correct, brilliant,
this is fantastic. Why do you manage to do it?
And Julian jin To couldn't do it?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Well, I want well, I know, I don't want to
be too mean, but I mean, look, I mean in
Finnis to them it is a finished the last guys,
it is. It is complicated, and you know you're dealing
with science and the law and all this sort of stuff,
and but you know the reality is we've got to
do it. You know, you just around you know that
I've seen a road dese involved in imperian drug. You know,
(04:51):
I think most of Zealanders would say, you know, you
need to do it. And the reality is this, right,
when we did breath testing for alcohol, it was quite
controversial when it first came in. You know, people said, oh,
this is terrible, a little never work. And actually it's
sort of hard to image New Zealand without breath testing
for alcohol, right, Yeah, you know, most people kind of
accept it, and I think, you know, in five years time,
we'll look back and say, yeah, it wasn't it crazy
(05:11):
You could drive on the roads after having smoked.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I think it's crazy now. I've been thinking it's crazy
for years. Listen, Kat wants to know about people with prescriptions.
So if you've got like because it sounded like it
sounded like one of the drugs that you might have
been attempting to pronounce before may have just been a
stock standed like you know, sleeping pill drug. If you
have a prescription for it and allowed to take it,
what happens then.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So it doesn't get picked up in the saliva test
at the roadside because it just tests for THHC, meth, MDMR,
and cocaine, it might get picked up on told through
the through the secondary test. Yeah, this is the laboratory
test because it tests for more. But anyone who has
(05:55):
a positive lab test for a prescription medication has a defense.
So like it's some likely, but anyone who's doing that
and it gets picked up has a defense.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Okay, thanks, thank you, Besh, I appreciate it and well
done getting this done. That's Chris Bishop, the Transport Minister.
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, Listen live to
news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
Now police are going to start the roadside checks to
find drug drivers from December. We've finally got a date.
They're going to be using the saliva tests to check
for four drugs cannabis, meth, MDMA and ecstasy. Anyone who
tests positive will be retested and if the result is
confirmed then they will be suspended for driving or from
driving rather for twelve hours. And Chris Bishop is the
(00:20):
Transport minister responsible for this. Hey bish, hello, Okay, how
do you know if someone's impaired with name a drug cannabis.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Well, there'll be a test obviously, and it's a saliva
test and you do it at the roadside, and you
do it twice, and if you test positive twice, you are.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
A simple What does a positive test necessarily mean that
you're impaired? You know, because with alcohol you can test
positive for alcohol, but you're only impaired at a certain level.
Is it going to have this much nuance in it?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, the point is that we don't want people driving
after having done pot. That's the whole point. We don't
want people doing cocaine, don't want people doing meth then
driving that there's no safe limit at which you can
do those drugs and drive. You know, around thirty percent
of all road deaths on our road every year involving
and pairing drug So if you're taking drugs and you're driving,
you are putting lives at risk in the same way
(01:13):
that if you you know, you, you know, have four
or five beers and then go for a drive, you're
also putting these on.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
Yeah, but if you have one beer, you're not putting
people's lives at risk. Right, So does a teaest I mean,
I guess time would be the most important thing here,
can it? Can it tell that you've like how how
recently would you have had to smoke pot for it
to pick that pick up like you'd smoke pot.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
I don't know, because I'm not I'm not a pot user.
The Minister won't surprise you to learn that. I think
I think it picks it up. I think it picks
up recent usage, so like you know, a week, a
week or so ago. No, but if you if you've
smoked up the night before and you go on the
road in the morning, then it will pick it up. Right.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
So if you've got somebody who who I don't know,
goes home from work, has a rage on a Friday night,
has to get up for work on a Saturday morning.
They may in fact still be impaired according to the test.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Well possibly, but the point. The point is this right
to send a really clear message to the public that
you can't do drugs and drive and at the moment
there is no way of checking at all.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
You don't need to convince me of this. I'm one
hundred percent on board. I'm just trying to understand the logistics.
So then what happens then obviously you go to a
secondary test once it's gone yep, there's a positive. Then
you get a blood test or something.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
So that a sample is taken and sent off to
the lab for a proper laboratory test. And we've designed
this with ESR or what's now hoopt your science, but
previously PERCENTESR to develop it because we've had parliaments had
two goes at this before. Right, this is like the
third time round where we sort of screwed it up.
The last government stuffed it up. So we have designed
(02:52):
it with scientists in mind. We've looked at what they
do in Australia and the standard on oral fluid testing,
so it's I think good to go and then the
full the full test and the lab you know, it
gives you the full monty of exactly what what you've
taken and actually actually tests for more drugs, test for
sixty five drugs before that are potentially so if.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
You stop, they're going they're going to run the whole
lot of them on you if you test positive for
the week.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Yeah, there's twenty there's twenty five whose names I do
not understand. There's a whole lot of Oza, lambs and
zza pems and knocks of those of beams names.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
You they'd like sleeping drugs, don't a whole lot.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
There's a whole lot of different ones. Well you know
more than I. I don't know. You might know more
than that. I read a lot.
Speaker 1 (03:36):
I read a lot. No, But seriously, what happens then
if like, at what point do you discuite? Do you
stand a driver down for twelve for twelve hours? Is
it when they test positive at the mouth swap or
when it comes back from the lab, So you get.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
You get you get disqualified from driving for twelve months
after the second positive test at the roadside, and then
if there's a positive test through the left test, you
get an infringement, notice, which happens later. But the point
is if you test positive twice at the roadside, you
want to get people off the road, right But.
Speaker 1 (04:07):
Hang on, did you say twelve months or twelve hours?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Twelve hours? Sorry? Sorry?
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Twelve okay? So if you bangang two tests at the roadside,
you've definitely smoked some pot recently. Twelve hours stand down,
and then after that you could be in more trouble
if we see other stuff in your blood. Correct, brilliant,
this is fantastic. Why do you manage to do it?
And Julian jin To couldn't do it?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Well, I want well, I know, I don't want to
be too mean, but I mean, look, I mean in
Finnis to them it is a finished the last guys,
it is. It is complicated, and you know you're dealing
with science and the law and all this sort of stuff,
and but you know the reality is we've got to
do it. You know, you just around you know that
I've seen a road dese involved in imperian drug. You know,
(04:51):
I think most of Zealanders would say, you know, you
need to do it. And the reality is this, right,
when we did breath testing for alcohol, it was quite
controversial when it first came in. You know, people said, oh,
this is terrible, a little never work. And actually it's
sort of hard to image New Zealand without breath testing
for alcohol, right, Yeah, you know, most people kind of
accept it, and I think, you know, in five years time,
we'll look back and say, yeah, it wasn't it crazy
(05:11):
You could drive on the roads after having smoked.
Speaker 1 (05:13):
I think it's crazy now. I've been thinking it's crazy
for years. Listen, Kat wants to know about people with prescriptions.
So if you've got like because it sounded like it
sounded like one of the drugs that you might have
been attempting to pronounce before may have just been a
stock standed like you know, sleeping pill drug. If you
have a prescription for it and allowed to take it,
what happens then.
Speaker 2 (05:34):
So it doesn't get picked up in the saliva test
at the roadside because it just tests for THHC, meth, MDMR,
and cocaine, it might get picked up on told through
the through the secondary test. Yeah, this is the laboratory
test because it tests for more. But anyone who has
(05:55):
a positive lab test for a prescription medication has a defense.
So like it's some likely, but anyone who's doing that
and it gets picked up has a defense.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Okay, thanks, thank you, Besh, I appreciate it and well
done getting this done. That's Chris Bishop, the Transport Minister.
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive, Listen live to
news Talks. It'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio
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