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Section 111 Road Transport Act 2013
Drug Driving – Driving with Presence of Certain Drugs (Other than Alcohol) in Oral Fluid, Blood or Urine

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Drug Driving is an offence under section 111 of the Road Transport Act 2013. The maximum penalty if it is your first ‘Major Traffic Offence’ in 5 Years is:

  1. An ‘automatic’ licence disqualification of 6 Month which the magistrate can reduce to a ‘minimum’ of 3 months, and
  2. A fine of $1,100

The maximum penalty if it is your second or more ‘major traffic offence’ in 5 years is:

  1. An ‘automatic’ disqualification of 12 months which the magistrate can reduce to a minimum of 6 months, and
  2. A fine of $2,200

However, there will be no criminal conviction, disqualification or fine if the magistrate is persuaded to grant a Section 10(1)(A) Dismissal, or a Conditional Release Order Without a Conviction.

To establish the offence, the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that:

  1. You drove a motor vehicle, or occupied the driver seat of a motor vehicle and attempted to put it in motion, or were a fully licensed driver and occupied the passenger seat while a learner driver was driving, and
  2. You had a prescribed Illicit substance in your saliva, blood or urine

There is no requirement that you were actually affected by the drug at the time of driving, which means the presence of a very small quantity is enough to substantiate the charge.

Illicit Substances include:

  1. Cannabis
  2. Amphetamines (such as ‘speed’)
  3. MDMA (‘ecstacy’), and
  4. Cocaine

A defence to the charge is that you made an honest and reasonable mistake of fact about the presence of the drug in your system. If you wish to plead guilty you can maximise the chance of receiving a lenient outcome by:

  1. Obtaining character references
  2. Writing an apology letter, and
  3. Completing a Traffic Offender Program

If you require the services of a traffic defence team that specialises in representing clients for cases under the Road Transport Act, call Sydney Criminal Lawyers today on (02) 9261 8881 to arrange a consultation.

Our team is vastly experienced in advising and representing clients in traffic law cases, and will fight to ensure you achieve the optimal result in the circumstances.

We offer fixed fees for all traffic cases, and a free first conference for those who are going to court.

The Legislation

Section 111 of the Road Transport Act 2013 is Presence of Certain Drugs (Other than Alcohol) in Oral Fluid, Blood or Urine and reads as follows:

Presence of certain drugs (other than alcohol) in oral fluid, blood or urine

(cf STM Act, s 11B)

(1) Presence of prescribed illicit drug in person’s oral fluid, blood or urine A person must not, while there is present in the person’s oral fluid, blood or urine any prescribed illicit drug:

(a) drive a motor vehicle, or

(b) occupy the driving seat of a motor vehicle and attempt to put the motor vehicle in motion, or

(c) if the person is the holder of an applicable driver licence (other than an applicable provisional licence or applicable learner licence)–occupy the seat in a motor vehicle next to a learner driver who is driving the vehicle.

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units (in the case of a first offence) or 30 penalty units (in the case of a second or subsequent offence).

(2) If a person is charged with an offence against subsection (1):

(a) the court attendance notice may allege that more than one prescribed illicit drug was present in the oral fluid, blood or urine of the person and the proceedings are not liable to be dismissed on the ground of uncertainty or duplicity if each of those drugs is described in the court attendance notice, and

(b) the offence is proved if the court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that there was present in the oral fluid, blood or urine of the defendant:

(i) a drug described in the court attendance notice, or

(ii) a combination of drugs any one or more of which was or were described in the court attendance notice.

(3) Presence of morphine in person’s blood or urine A person must not, while there is present in the person’s blood or urine any morphine:

(a) drive a motor vehicle, or

(b) occupy the driving seat of a motor vehicle and attempt to put the motor vehicle in motion, or

(c) if the person is the holder of an applicable driver licence (other than an applicable provisional licence or applicable learner licence)–occupy the seat in a motor vehicle next to a learner driver who is driving the vehicle.

The penalties

Maximum penalty: 20 penalty units (in the case of a first offence) or 30 penalty units (in the case of a second or subsequent offence).

(4) If a person is charged with an offence against subsection (3), the offence is proved if the court is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that morphine was present in the blood or urine of the defendant (whether or not in combination with any other drugs).

(5) Defence for offence relating to presence of morphine in person’s blood or urine It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (3) if the defendant proves to the court’s satisfaction that, at the time the defendant engaged in the conduct that is alleged to have contravened the subsection, the presence in the defendant’s blood or urine of morphine was caused by the consumption of a substance for medicinal purposes.

(6) Meaning of consumption for medicinal purposes In this section, a substance is consumed for medicinal purposes only if it is:

(a) a drug prescribed by a medical practitioner taken in accordance with a medical practitioner’s prescription, or

(b) a codeine-based medicinal drug purchased from a pharmacy that has been taken in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

Note : Division 1 of Part 7.4 provides for the disqualification of persons from holding driver licences for certain offences (including offences against this section).

The offences of driving with a prescribed concentration of alcohol in the blood, and of driving under the influence of alcohol or any other drug, are dealt with in sections 110 and 112, respectively.

Why Sydney Criminal Lawyers®?

Choosing the right legal team to defend your reputation and interests can be a difficult process.

However, it is always important to look at a firm’s experience and results when making this decision.

At Sydney Criminal Lawyers®, we have extensive experience defending and winning some of the most complex traffic matters – so you can rest assured that you are in safe hands.

Our traffic law specialists will take the time in every case to carefully scrutinise all the evidence in order to identify problems with the prosecution case at an early stage in the proceedings.

Where issues are found, our lawyers will write to the prosecution asking to have the charges dropped on this basis – often sparing our clients the considerable time and expense associated with defended hearings.

However, should your matter proceed to court, our senior lawyers will represent you and present a strong defence case to maximise your chances of being found ‘not guilty.’

Our senior lawyers are highly skilled advocates who have been recognised for their expert knowledge of the traffic law, as well as their ability to obtain excellent results in difficult cases.

We can assist you in avoiding the harsh penalties imposed by the law if you simply wish to plead guilty – in these cases, our experienced advocates can prepare and present compelling sentencing submissions which focus on any positive factors of your case.

For the best defence in your case, get the experts on your side today. Call us now on (02) 9261 8881 and book your FREE first conference with our traffic law specialists.

Going to Court? (02) 9261 8881

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Drug Driving is an offence under section 111 of the Road Transport Act 2013. The maximum penalty if it is your first ‘Major Traffic Offence’ in 5 Years is: An ‘automatic’ licence disqualification of 6 Month which the magistrate can...

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