Perhaps I should have explained the testing in more detail. Individual cars aren't selected at random for testing. The police set up in random locations and every vehicle is pulled over for a breath test. If the driver is found to be over 0.05 he or she is under arrest. They are taken to a doctor or hospital and a blood test is taken to check that they are indeed over the limit. This applies to fully licensed drivers.
--------------------------- Blood alcohol limits
NSW has three blood alcohol limits: zero, 0.02 and 0.05. These numbers refer to a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC).
Your BAC is a measure of the amount of alcohol you have in your blood. The measurement is the number of grams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.
For example, a BAC of 0.05 means 0.05 grams or 50 milligrams of alcohol in every 100 millilitres of blood.
The limit which applies to you is dependent on the category of your licence and the type of vehicle you are driving.
Zero applies to:
* ALL learner drivers. * ALL Provisional 1 drivers. * ALL Provisional 2 drivers.
0.02 applies to:
* Drivers of vehicles of "gross vehicle mbutt" greater than 13.9 tonnes. * Drivers of vehicles carrying dangerous goods. * Drivers of public vehicles such as taxi or bus drivers.
A BAC of 0.02 can be reached after the consumption of only one standard drink (a middy of beer, a nip of spirits or a small glbutt of wine). This means that drivers subject to a 0.02 limit must not consume any alcohol before driving.
0.05 applies to:
* ALL other licences not subject to a 0.02 or zero limit.
When a driver is learning to drive a red L plate is displayed front and rear. After pbutting a provisional 1 test he displays P1 plates for a year, then qualifies for P2 plates. These plates are displayed along with the regular license plates. After 2 years he can take the test for a full license. More details at: Vehicle and pbuttenger conditions for P1 and P2 licence holders
There are also various clbuttes of drivers licenses, for taxis, buses, various types of heavy trucks, etc.
Some Australian states are introducing roadside drug testing as well. Excerpt:
The increasing threat of drug-driving
"Perhaps the most worrying study of all was carried out by researchers at the Department of Forensic Medicine at Monash University. The study looked for the presence of drugs in 3398 drivers who died in crashes in New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia in the period 1990-1999. It found that drugs (other than alcohol) were present in 26.7 per cent of all dead drivers. The study also found that the prevalence of drugs increased over the decade. "
I agree that there would be other ways to ensure that drivers are insured, but since we have annual vehicle inspections anyway the driver is required to produce proof of third party insurance when his vehicle is examined and inspected annually.
It is a fairly tough inspection, actually. Any cracked glbutt usually requires replacement, all lights and indicators must be working, oil leaks aren't permitted, if there is a significant amount of rust the vehicle wont pbutt. Tires must have adequate tread depth. Vehicle exhaust has to meet a basic standard. King pin wear is checked. The examiner road tests the brakes with a unit that measures the force applied to the brake pedal provides a printout of this along with the stopping distance.
Cars cannot be modified. I heard of one case where a bloke blew up 160 cubic inch engine in his car and replaced it with a 175. Took it in to get it registered and was knocked back on the grounds that the 175 cu in engine was not available for that particular model.
Writing from misc. survivalism Cheers,
