Breath Tests

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31941, 19 March 1969, Page 12

Breath Tests

Sir, —The Minister of Transport recently announced that when the breath testers come into use, traffic officers would not have authority to test unless a driver showed signs of drunkenness. Is this indirectly permitting potentially dangerous drivers on the road? It seems ironical to me that a person is allowed to drive undeterred until he shows signs of lacking control over his vehicle, perhaps at the expense of another motorist or pedestrian. Surely it must be remembered that the law prohibits drunken driving and that such a driver should not be given the “sporting chance” of driving home without detection. Would not hotel car-park testing or random street testing help to remove most of these potential killers from the roads?— Yours, etc.,

February 26, 1969. [The Minister of Transport (Mr Gordon) replies; “This suggestion is contrary to the recommendations of the Select Committee of the House which investigated and recommended the procedures under which the new laws

will operate. The recommendations of the Select Committee were approved by Parliament and incorporated in the Transport Amendment Act. Breath tests will not be requested unless an enforcement officer has good cause to suspect that a driver has infringed the law. Under no circumstances will random tests be carried out or roadblocks be set up for this purpose.”]