MORE than 50 drug-driving notices have been issued in Brimbank during 12 months, the second-highest rate in the West.
Last week, Victoria Police released figures which showed how many drug-driving penalty notices have been handed out within municipalities across the state between the 2012-2013 financial year.
Within Brimbank, 50 males were caught out and a small number of females.
However, due to privacy concerns police did not say how many female drug-drivers were detected in the area.
In nearby Melton, police apprehended 57 drug-drivers, including 11 women.
Elsewhere in the West, Maribyrnong recorded 27 drug-drivers, Wyndham had 23, Hobsons Bay, 16 and Moonee Valley more than 10.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill issued an opinion piece which accompanied the drug figures.
Mr Hill said police officers remained surprised after the state-wide Operation RAID (Remove All Impaired Drivers), conducted in November, discovered one in 11 motorists tested were under the influence of illegal drugs.
“To police working Operation RAID earlier this month, it was a figure that astounded them,” Mr Hill said.
Mr Hill said drug driving has become “a significant issue which appears to be increasing across Victoria and we need to intervene now”.
“We know impaired drivers are a major contributor to road trauma and have been engaged in a battle to remove them from our roads since motor vehicles first became an integral part of society,” he said.
“December 2004 saw the introduction of legislation prohibiting the driving of motor vehicles with any level of the illicit drugs speed and cannabis present.”
“In 2005, drugs of all types were present in almost 40 per cent of drivers killed on Victorian roads, with illicit drugs present in 24.4 per cent of drivers.”
“We need to change the culture where drivers believe it is okay to drive with any form of impairment.”
