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Land Transport Act 1998

Primary responsibilities of participants in land transport system - Responsibilities concerning use of alcohol or drugs

11A: Persons not to drive or attempt to drive while blood contains evidence of, or oral fluid indicates, use of qualifying drug

You could also call this:

“Don't drive if you have certain drugs in your body”

You must not drive or try to drive a car if there are signs of drugs in your blood or mouth. This applies to certain drugs called ‘qualifying drugs’.

There are two ways to tell if you have used a qualifying drug:

  1. Your blood can show evidence of drug use. This happens if:
    • The amount of a known qualifying drug in your blood is higher than what’s allowed, or
    • There’s any amount of an unknown qualifying drug in your blood.
  2. Your spit (oral fluid) can indicate drug use. This happens if:
    • You take two tests of your spit, and both tests show positive results for the same qualifying drug.

If either your blood or spit shows signs of these drugs, you are not allowed to drive or attempt to drive a car.

You can find more detailed information about these rules in sections 57A, 57B, and 57C of the law.

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This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM2507338.

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Part 2 Primary responsibilities of participants in land transport system
Responsibilities concerning use of alcohol or drugs

11APersons not to drive or attempt to drive while blood contains evidence of, or oral fluid indicates, use of qualifying drug

  1. A person may not drive or attempt to drive a motor vehicle while—

  2. the person’s blood contains evidence of use of a qualifying drug (see sections 57A(1) and (2), 57B(1) and (2), and 57C(1) and (2)); or
    1. the person’s oral fluid indicates use of a qualifying drug (see sections 57A(3), 57B(3), and 57C(3) and (4)).

      1. A person’s blood contains evidence of use of a qualifying drug if—

      2. the blood concentration level of a listed qualifying drug exceeds the tolerance level for the drug; or
        1. the blood contains any level of an unlisted qualifying drug.

          1. For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), a person’s oral fluid indicates use of a qualifying drug if the results of a first oral fluid test and a second oral fluid test subsequently undergone by the person are positive and indicate the use of the same qualifying drug.

          Notes
          • Section 11A: replaced, on , by section 5 of the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 5).