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Roadside Drug Testing (VIC)

roadside drug testing in VIC

We are driving down to melbourne soon and more than likely be consuming a substance or two on friday night, we want to leave early sunday morning, even though we wont be under the influence of anything anymore, i assume that they will still show up in our saliva, how common are the drug buses and any particular area they target?

We were thinking of parking near a station off the highway into melbourne and catching the train into the cbd to hopefully avoid the thing, any advice?
thanks.
 
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Just thought i would elaborate on an encounter i had with a coppa last night whilst getting breath tested. This was in Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne if it makes any difference...

Anyway, i was driving, saw the booze/drug bus and thought fuck, i know i havent had a drink but whens the last time i smoked pot. Anyway, i roll up to the bloke who was doing the testing and he did the usual breath test, and whilst taking the reading i enquired about the drug testing. I basically asked how it worked, what drugs they tested etc etc.

On to the main part of my story, he told me (he was around 30, so he was a semi-senior cop) that in actual fact, there is only one operational drug bus in Victoria, and the rest have been painted with "DRUG BUS" all over them as a "bluff" due to the fact that drug testing takes 5 minutes and it would cause too much of a hassle to the public and the traffic. He went on to say the one that is in service is used only to target truck drivers and P Platers, and is such placed around the city exits, namely on Weekends to snare the P platers, and early mornings to catch the truckies.

Now my first reaction was basically utter amazement. I mean, what the fuck? Thats all i could really say. This cop wasn't joking around or being a smart arse, he was actually being really civil and nice, it wasn't as if it was a joke or something....

I just want to know if anyone has heard anything similar to this and if so, what the fuck is going on?!?!?!?
 
In regards to how long it takes to get out of your system - i heard that the levels they look for are after about 24 hrs of metabolism.
But that's for the secondary testing!
i got pulled up on my way to work on a sunday morning. I was the last person the cops pulled over and it kicked them in the arse.
i had smoked a joint about a week earlier, and had a pill about 2 months before that. But meth and cannabis both showed up as positive in the initial roadside test.
so i got taken into the van and it took about 40 minutes for the questioning and saliva testing. And that second, more thorough saliva testing came up negative for both substances.
So even if you have been good, and are driving unaffected, it can still take about an hour to prove if you have been naughty in the recent past. (though you still get to drive to work - and be late - and have your boss kick your arse)
 
^interesting! My guess is that the initial positive was just a test failure, and the second test gave the (correct) negative result.

Immortal - what that copper said to you doesn't surprise me at all - it's simple logistics. Just getting a breath test fucks up the traffic enough, and that takes less than 30 seconds. I only know one person who has actually been drug tested ever by these drug buses.

Rioter - I would just drive into Melbourne as usual. They are actually more likely to set up the bus on the outskirts of Melbourne - truck routes etc. Once you get off the mighty Hume I reckon the chances of a drug bus being set up are pretty low.
 
^ I have been drug tested once at the end of the mornington peninsula hwy at the Rosbud end. I was the final person they tested and they were packing up. I had smoked pot within the previous 3 days but nothing showed up, so after 5mins of waiting I was on my merry way. =D

Another time I was in a car with a mate who was peaking off his nutt and we were waved through the drug corral.. This was at the Chandler hwy exit of the Eastern Fwy - they always set up there. Needless to say on this occassion we were lucky as fuck, since my mates car was un-roadworthy, he was high, and we had pills on us. Since then we have stuck to catching cabs... maybe this drug bus thing has prevented some of us from driving :\

Though they may not be in use I have definitely seen a 200% increase in drug bus visability in the last 8 months. I seem to see them everywhere.. I guess if they don't actively test for drugs they will at least use it as a backup when someone with saucpans for pupils comes rolling past 8o
 
^Chandler exit eh? Never seen 'em there... just lucky I guess.

I've been breathtested by buses marked "Drug Bus" - but they weren't doing the saliva routine... It makes sense that it's just too much hassle. Be polite and blow in the bag - you can be off chops and driving on four bald tires and it's not really their lookout - they will wave you through if you pass the breath test and don't attract undue attention otherwise.
 
ayjay said:
^interesting! My guess is that the initial positive was just a test failure, and the second test gave the (correct) negative result.

Immortal - what that copper said to you doesn't surprise me at all - it's simple logistics. Just getting a breath test fucks up the traffic enough, and that takes less than 30 seconds. I only know one person who has actually been drug tested ever by these drug buses.

Rioter - I would just drive into Melbourne as usual. They are actually more likely to set up the bus on the outskirts of Melbourne - truck routes etc. Once you get off the mighty Hume I reckon the chances of a drug bus being set up are pretty low.
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Decided that it was not worth risking it so i stayed sober and just waited till we were about 2 hours out of melbourne up the hume and switched drivers and i had my turn haha, guess it worked out for the best volunteering to go sober for the weekend meant i didnt have to do any of the driving home :D

Didnt see any buses or for that matter a cop car, saw one about an hour out of melbourne on the hume with a radar, but he was bright yellow so saw him ages out haha.
 
^Chandler exit eh? Never seen 'em there... just lucky I guess.
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Yeah seen them on 5 different occassions.. Always a bus with 'drugs' painted on its side, but I'm not sure if they were actually testing for drugs.. I hope they keep it this way
 
Certainly interesting hearing everyone's encounters with the buses. I don't drive anymore but have seen a few marked Drug Bus... also wondered whether that could be correct given I had also understood there was only one such bus.

I just read a 2-page review article on the Victorian roadside drug testing scheme from Drug and Alcohol Review - you can download it from here.

One thing the author mentioned was that technology and research is progressing to a point where it may be possible to recommend a cut-off point for cannabis as there is for alcohol. Even if it were possible, not sure if that would go down too well politically!
 
Weekend before last got pulled over at bus marked "Drug testing" on Burwood Hwy just before Belgrave. I got really excited cos I haven't been swabbed before and I like to try these things, y'know (especially when I know I've got nothing on board ;) ). BUT - they just breath tested me. I was initially pissed off - then I realised it supports my suggestion on this thread (yay points!)

As far as deciding a cut off point for THC intoxication and driving - I've had it suggested to me that this was always the point (in Vic at least - with Rob Hulls being so progressive etc etc) - but I don't believe it :\
 
I saw a drug bus in the northern suburbs (Mill Park) last Monday night, couldn't see if they where testing for drugs.

But I got stopped by one (probably the same one?) in Epping (also northern burbs) last night and actually got saliva tested. I don't use drugs these days so obviouslly I didn't test positive. All up took about 8mins including the breath test at the start.
 
On to the main part of my story, he told me (he was around 30, so he was a semi-senior cop) that in actual fact, there is only one operational drug bus in Victoria, and the rest have been painted with "DRUG BUS" all over them as a "bluff" due to the fact that drug testing takes 5 minutes and it would cause too much of a hassle to the public and the traffic.
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Now I'd hate to question the word of a police officer, but I'm pretty darn positive that's not the case. Over the weekend (on the same night) a friend got pulled over for a breathe test and the bloke in front (a P plater) was pulled over to the side and drug tested (he saw the officer stand there waiting for the swap to work)...and that night in a completely different suburb the cab I was in was pulled over, and whilst he was tested I watched another office wait next to another P plate car whilst the swab worked its magic.

But either way I'd treat every car, every bike, every cop and every bus as a drug bus and just not drug and drive (or drink and drive).
 
Yep saw them actually drug testing in Greensborough (Northern Suburbs again) last night, as opposed to just breath testing.
 
They're all drug buses now

I just heard an advertisement on Gold 104.3 around 6.45pm stating that all booze buses are now drug buses...brrr...
 
I asked in the SA thread but no-one has responded so I'll ask in here :)

Not sure if this has been covered and I did a search but it wasn't helpful but I don't want to start a new thread.

A friend of mine takes Duromine for weight loss/appetite suppressant and she gave me one to try. I looked it up on wikipedia and it says it's made up of "2-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-amine and 2-methyl-amphetamine" which leaves me wondering, would it come up on a drug test?
 
^Duromine is phentermine. My chemistry is not the best - but looking at the chemical structure I would say that it is likely to cause a positive test result. The roadside tests will return a positive result for methamphetamine, MDMA and cannabis, but not amphetamine. Phentermine is structurally similar to methamphetamine, so I would expect a positive test result.

If you want a definitive answer I would post this question in ADD...


Now - is every booze bus a drug bus? Hmm - I'd say they all carry the necessary testing equipment. But are saliva tests routinely performed during random roadside testing? I'd say in general no - because of the time factor already alluded to. In fact - looking at some of the posts above, it looks like they are cherry picking people to saliva test (P-platers etc). Of course they do this to an extent when they set up near a rave for example - but what is being described above is different - it's actually probably against the law for them to decide who to drug test and who to breath test. It's certainly not random testing. Good thing I drive a family sedan with kiddie seats in the back - I'll never get tested!!
 
ayjay said:
- it's actually probably against the law for them to decide who to drug test and who to breath test. It's certainly not random testing. Good thing I drive a family sedan with kiddie seats in the back - I'll never get tested!!
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It's called behavioral profiling, and I think time would be the last thing the police are worried. More like the expense of doing the tests, so off course you target the group your more likely to get results and raise the stats for the government..
 
hey guys

i was wondering how long after smoking a joint (just for a small buzz) is it ok to drive? i read on the arrivealive.gov.au site 'acouple of hours depending on your metabolism' etc... which is fair enough, but does anyone know a good rule of thumb? say... 3hrs? 4hrs?

thanks in advance
 
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