'What you blow is what you go' laws commence

Previously, drivers may have been able to manipulate the procedure for determining the driver's blood alcohol content, known as a back calculation process, in order to escape higher penalties.

However, there have been significant improvements in breath analysis technology, and under the amendment, the blood alcohol content reading on the roadside will be presumed to be the blood alcohol content when the person was driving.

The Road Traffic Amendment (Blood Alcohol Content) Bill 2019 passed through State Parliament in August, showing the State Government’s zero tolerance for drink drivers.

“Drink driving is a factor in one in five fatal crashes and one in ten serious injury crashes in WA,” said Acting Road Safety Commissioner Simon Grieve. “People need to know that it is never acceptable to have one too many and drive home.”