Victorian Coalition Government acts swiftly on drinking while driving

Attorney-General Robert Clark today announced that the Victorian Coalition Government has introduced legislation to amend the Road Safety Act to prevent people from consuming alcohol while driving a motor vehicle.

“We recognised this problem, committed to fixing it and moved swiftly to ensure that this anomaly is dealt with ahead of the Christmas holiday period,” Mr Clark said.

“To allow people to sit behind the wheel and drink while driving undermines the message that drinking and driving don’t mix, and undermines the good work of the TAC and many others to get that message through to motorists, particularly young motorists.”

The legislation introduced today will amend the Road Safety Act to introduce two new offences that prohibit the consumption of intoxicating liquor by a person driving a motor vehicle or accompanying a learner driver.

Victoria Police will be able to enforce these offences by traffic infringement notice, which will carry a penalty of two penalty units. The maximum penalty for each offence will be 10 penalty units.

“If the legislation is passed by Parliament this week, it can be on the statute books before Christmas, helping to save lives and reduce trauma on our roads during the festive season,” Mr Clark said.