A media spat has played out between South Australia Police and police insiders. As highlighted in the NT News, the spat is over the availability of roadside drug testing in the state, with insiders saying that SA Police rarely carries out drug testing after 9.30 pm.
According to the article, the insiders claim there are fewer officers trained and available to operate roadside drug testing equipment late at night. This could mean that fewer roadside drug tests are conducted after nightfall, despite public perceptions that enforcement continues around the clock. And it creates a gap in enforcement during hours when road risk may still be high.
SA Police have rejected the claim and highlighted that random roadside drug testing is a core part of traffic enforcement in South Australia. They have acknowledged that testing generally doesn’t occur between 3am and 6am. This is because traffic officers are usually not rostered on and it’s also not a peak time for catching drug drivers.
SA Police adds that during targeted operations, however, drug drivers can be caught at any time. It also highlighted that while not all officers are trained to conduct roadside drug testing, there are procedures in place to remove drug drivers from the road at any time. This includes the ability for any police offer to compel a driver to undergo a blood test in hospital if drug impairment is suspected.
In South Australia, around 350 police officers are trained to carry out roadside drug testing. This is less than 10 per cent of the force’s 4500 sworn officers.
Additional Points About Roadside Drug Testing in South Australia
- Roadside drug testing has been in operation in South Australia since July 2006, and they conduct tens of thousands of drug tests each year.
- In 2024/25, police carried out 53,521 roadside drug driving tests across South Australia.
- In the past year, roadside testing was expanded to include cocaine detection due to concerns about crashes linked to cocaine use. This change meant that roadside testing can now screen for a broader range of illegal substances during enforcement activities.
Integrity Sampling: Drug Testing South Australia Anytime, Anywhere
While we’ll leave it to authorities to decide when roadside drug testing is carried out, here’s one thing you can take to the bank. As a client of Integrity Sampling, if you need workplace drug testing carried out at any time of the day — or night — we’ll be there for you.
At Integrity Sampling South Australia, we understand that workplace safety and compliance don’t only happen between 9 am and 5 pm. Businesses operate around the clock, emergencies arise, and incidents don’t wait for office hours to start.
That’s why our team is ready to deliver drug and alcohol testing services anywhere, anytime across South Australia — whether it’s early morning, late at night, on weekends or public holidays.
You can find more details about our after-hours testing services in a post from earlier this year.
Integrity Sampling has six locations in South Australia, with a wide coverage of the state.
We help clients maintain safe, compliant and drug-free workplaces — no matter the hour.
So, if you’re after a workplace drug testing provider that offers dependable, flexible drug and alcohol testing solutions across the state 24/7, contact us to discuss your needs.
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Explore the latest on roadside drug testing in South Australia and learn how Integrity Sampling provides reliable, anytime workplace drug testing services across the state.
