Drug driving charges | drug driving offences Melbourne & Victoria

What are drug driving charges and drug driving offences in Melbourne & Victoria?

Drug driving is the act of driving a motor vehicle in Victoria with the presence of illicit drugs in the driver's system. Victoria police are able to detect traces of THC or Cannabis, Methmphetamines and ecstasy or MDMA by testing the driver's Saliva. It is a Road Traffic offence to drive a motor vehicle in Victoria while under the influence of illicit drugs if;

your saliva or blood contains any traces of illicit substances; or
while you're impaired by any drug; or
you are affected by any drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the motor vehicle.

It is also a road traffic offence and a drug driving offence in Victoria to drive a vehicle and;

fail a roadside drug test.
refuse to undertake a roadside drug test and/or impairment test by Victoria police.

It is important to contact the best criminal lawyers in Melbourne for drug driving offences or drug driving charges if you are issued with an infringement notice for a drug driving offence or a summons for a drug driving charge. Our best traffic lawyers in Melbourne frequently find technical defences arising from over 20 years of experience in road traffic offence and road traffic charges. Many road traffic lawyers in Victoria know how to plead drivers guilty to drug driving charges in court or accept drug driving infringements because that is a relatively simple process, but those traffic lawyers often have little or no experience in contesting driving charges. Some of those traffic lawyers advise clients to plead guilty because of a lack of understanding of the law or because it requires far less preparation. Consequently, you need a second opinion from a drug driving expert from Balot Reilly traffic lawyers in Melbourne.

Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers Melbourne have over 600 google reviews for outstanding legal advice and legal representation in Victoria and throughout Australia, many for drug driving and traffic offences in Melbourne and in 2019 and 2020 were hand picked by two independent legal award panels as the best traffic lawyers in Melbourne which includes best drug driving lawyers in Melbourne; please see Threebestrated and also Best in Australia or best in Au

WHAT IS THE PROPER PROCEDURE OF TESTING DRIVERS FOR DRUG DRIVING OFFENCES BY VICTORIA POLICE?

If the police suspect that you are driving a motor vehicle under the influence of an illicit substance or a drug that impairs your ability to drive a motor vehicle, they may request that you undergo a saliva test. It is an offence to refuse to undergo the initial saliva test.

If you refuse you could be charged with refuse a drug test which is a serious offence attracting substantial minimum drivers licence disqualification period and a fine for first time offenders.

If the saliva test is positive for one or more illicit substances in your system, then you may be asked to accompany police to the nearest police station or a drug and alcohol bus, also known as a booze bus for the purpose of a further evidentiary oral test. Please note that you are able to request that a further sample be taken by a medical practitioner in the presence of a police officer in the drug inspection booze bus or at the police station.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A DRIVER TESTS POSITIVE FOR DRUG DRIVING IN VICTORIA?

A final positive drug test is likely to result in you being issued with a drug driving infringement notice or charged with a drug driving charge and a summons to appear at the Magistrates Court. Depending on the severity of the alleged offending and whether you are a repeat offender, the police may charge and summons you to appear at the Magistrates court of Victoria for drug driving charges.

WHY CHOOSE BALOT REILLY DRUG DRIVING LAWYERS IN MELBOURNE IF YOU’RE CAUGHT DRUG DRIVING IN VICTORIA?

Our drug driving lawyers in Melbourne have proven results throughout Victoria and Australia;

Many of our successful results in defending drug driving charges and defending drug driving offences were in circumstances where former traffic lawyers advised those clients that they had no prospects of success; presumably because of a lack of drug driving law experience or failure to keep up to date with drug driving laws, drug driving defences and the Road Traffic Rules. Nevertheless, when the same clients approached our drug driving lawyers, our well trained and highly experienced driving offence lawyers applied all their legal skills, up to date legal knowledge and expertise and successfully defended those drug driving charges and drug driving allegations and ultimately saved those clients’ livelihood.
Amongst those wins or successful drug driving defences were administrative errors, procedural defects, clever tactics, vigorous and effective cross examination of witnesses relating to the facts of the case, legal issues such as unlawful arrests and failure to comply with mandatory legal requirements incumbent upon the police.
When drivers wish to plead guilty to drug driving charges, our drug driving lawyers are frequently able to achieve a no conviction result for drug driving charges in Victoria and maintain a clean criminal record.
There are strict handling and filing requirements for police to comply with and at times our experience shows they fail to adhere to some mandatory legal requirements, which might be to your advantage because it might assist you in mounting a successful defence, even when you believe that you have committed a drug driving offence you have a right to put the police prosecution to its proof, which is not an easy task for the prosecution.

In light of the above, it is important to retain the best drug driving lawyers in Melbourne as soon as possible to defend you to maximise your chances of successfully defending or minimising licence loss where possible.

Don’t let inexperienced drug driving lawyers risk your freedom, choose the leading drug driving lawyers in Melbourne to represent and fight for you as early as possible, the earlier the better! Call Balot Reilly drink driving lawyers now!

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE IN COURT AND YOU NEED HELP FROM THE BEST CRIMINAL LAWYER IN MELBOURNE?

It's never too late contact an expert criminal lawyer for drug driving charges & drug driving offences from Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers Melbourne to immediately assist you in court and to defend you and fight for you. You can contact our office on 03 9326 6606 or our 24/7 emergency hotline 0421 905 576.

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE IN COURT AND YOU'RE UNHAPPY WITH YOUR CRIMINAL LAWYER IN DRUG DRIVING CHARGES AND DRUG DRIVING OFFENCES IN VICTORIA?

If you are legally represented you need to;

Communicate your concerns to your current criminal lawyer and
Ask the presiding Magistrate, Judge, Member or any other person presiding for an adjournment to engage new criminal lawyer and
Contact Balot Reilly expert criminal lawyers for drug driving offences and drug driving charges from Melbourne if you want great legal representation in court.

It's never too late to call Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers to represent you in drug driving charges and drug driving offences in all Victorian and Australian courts to fight for your rights, restore your confidence and peace of mind and achieve the best possible outcome in court for your unique legal situation.

DRINK DRIVING AND DRUG DRIVING OFFENCES AT THE SAME TIME IN VICTORIA.

A combined drink and drug driving offence in Melbourne and the rest of Victoria attracts higher penalties than an individual drink driving or drug driving offence alone. See Section 49(1)(bc) of the Road Safety Act 1986.

HOW CAN OUR BEST TRAFFIC OFFENCE LAWYERS, DRINK DRIVING LAWYERS & DRUG DRIVING LAWYERS HELP?

Our drug driving and drink driving lawyers in Melbourne are experts in defending drink driving and drug driving charges by:

Legally representing drivers charged with drug driving and drink driving charges at the same time in court.
Finding technical legal arguments to successfully defend and avoid or minimise driver licence disqualification period and also
In some cases to challenge what the police prosecution allege is the minimum drivers licence disqualification period for drug driving and drink driving charges combined. In many cases our experienced drug driving and drink driving lawyers in Melbourne have managed to obtain less time than the minimum period anticipated by our clients following incorrect legal advice by their former lawyers; after being charged by Victoria police with drink driving and drug driving at the same time. Our experienced drink driving and drug driving lawyers made a phenomenal difference to the result in the case which had huge affect on their lives. Our traffic lawyers in Melbourne used legal arguments that are particularly relevant to this area of law.

It is very important to contact the best drug driving and drink driving lawyers in Melbourne before you make any decisions about your drink driving and drug driving charges.

CAN YOU BE ARRESTED FOR DRUG DRIVING OR REFUSING TO ACCOMPANY A POLICE OFFICER IN VICTORIA?

A:Contrary to popular belief, Victoria Police has no power to arrest drivers for drug driving or refusing to accompany a member of Victoria Police to a drug detection booze bus or a police station. Nevertheless, the consequences of a refusal to accompany are punishable by mandatory loss of driver's licence and a fine and for a second offence double the driver's licence disqualification and possible imprisonment.

WHAT TO DO WHEN PULLED OVER FOR DRINK DRIVING & DRUG DRIVING TEST IN VICTORIA?

When instructed by police to stop your vehicle or pull into a designated drug & alcohol testing station or a booze bus you must do so. Failure to do so attracts a mandatory loss of drivers licence and a fine.
You are under no obligation to answer any questions asked by police other than your name and your address to prove your identification.
When testing for your blood alcohol content there are usually two tests conducted by police:
A preliminary breath test – which only indicates the presence of alcohol on your breath (although it provides police with an approximate blood alcohol content reading it will usually not be disclosed to you)
An evidentiary breath test – if the preliminary breath test indicates a positive result for the presence of alcohol, the police may require you to attend a booze bus or police station for the purpose of conducting a further more accurate test, known as an evidentiary breath test. This evidentiary breath test will provide an actual reading of blood alcohol concentration which will be alleged and relied upon against you.
Police must wait at least 15 minutes between conducting a preliminary breath test and an evidentiary breath test.
The police can wait up to 3 hours to test you from the time of driving, but not any longer. You are not obliged to comply with a request for a breath test if 3 hours have passed since you drove a motor vehicle.
You have the right to ask for a blood test after your evidentiary breath test.
If you have been taken to hospital as a result of a car accident, you must allow a doctor to take a sample of blood for analysis.

It is important to contact our Melbourne drink driving and drug driving lawyers to explain your rights in further detail and to defend your drink driving and drug driving offences as well as possible.

WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM DRIVER LICENCE DISQUALIFICATION PERIODS FOR DRUG DRIVING IN VICTORIA?

If you accept responsibility for a drug driving infringement or plead guilty to a drug driving charge in court, the following minimum mandatory periods apply:
https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/road-rules/penalties

You need to ensure that you retain a Balot Reilly drug driving lawyer from Melbourne to maximise your chances to successfully defend or minimise licence loss and ongoing onerous legal obligations where possible

WHAT ARE THE MINIMUM PENALTIES FOR COMBINED DRUG DRIVING & DRINK DRIVING OFFENCES IN VICTORIA?

If you accept responsibility for a drink driving and drug driving offence at the same time or plead guilty to the charge in open court the minimum mandatory periods of drivers licence disqualification are as follows: (with limited exceptions see hereunder) http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/rsa1986125/sch1ab.html

You need to ensure that you retain a Balot Reilly drink driving and drug driving lawyer from Melbourne to maximise your chances to successfully defend or minimise driver licence loss and ongoing onerous legal obligations where possible

WILL I HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD IF I PAY MY FINE FOR A DRINK DRIVING OR DRUG DRIVING OFFENCE?

Any infringement which is not contested in court is considered a conviction for the purpose of the Road Safety Act.
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/rsa1986125

WILL I HAVE A CRIMINAL RECORD FOR DRINK DRIVING OR DRUG DRIVING IF THE CHARGES ARE PROVEN AGAINST ME IN COURT?

The outcome of your court proceedings may appear on your driving record and criminal record as a driving conviction or a finding of guilt where a conviction is not recorded by the court.

Melbourne Criminal Lawyers for Drug Driving Charges| Best Traffic Lawyers in Melbourne | Balot Reilly Criminal Lawyers
Melbourne Office: 462 William Street Melbourne West, Victoria 3003
Available 24/7 for phone consultation
Ph: (03) 9326 6606
Mob: 0421 905 576