Reality hits hard when you're stoned behind the wheel. Selwyn District Council Road Safety

Drug driving now kills as many people as drink driving on New Zealand roads.

That’s the hard reality of driving on drugs.

The Selwyn District Council has launched its annual summer road safety campaign. This year the campaign highlights the often-overlooked danger of drug driving and calls on individuals to make responsible choices that protect other people’s lives.

Despite what drug users may believe, driving with illicit drugs in their system clearly impairs the ability to drive safely. Around one in three fatal crashes in New Zealand last year involved people driving under the influence of drugs, with methamphetamine and cannabis being the most common culprits. That’s 72 fatalities due to drug driving.

As the road controlling authority, the Council is responsible for road safety on Selwyn’s local roads. This year’s campaign aims to get ahead of a growing issue and address some of the misconceptions of driving under the influence, Council Executive Director Infrastructure and Property Tim Mason says.

“This might be confronting for some people – but so are the consequences when people crash. We know that nationally drug driving is becoming more of an issue and we want to make sure Selwyn drivers are aware and are being safe this summer and beyond.”

While there are many myths about drugs not having a major impact on driving - these substances dramatically affect driving ability, Canterbury Policing Development Manager Anna Lloyd says.

“We often hear cannabis users say they are more cautious when driving, while drivers or riders who have taken methamphetamine perceive themselves as alert and responsive.

Both perceptions are wrong; cannabis can have a major impact on your attentiveness and your perception of time and speed.

“It slows your reaction times and can make you drive so cautiously that you become a hazard to other road users by taking longer to make decisions like applying your brakes. Driving under the influence of methamphetamine can make drivers more aggressive, speeding and weaving through traffic or becoming hyper-focused on one task and not being aware of anything else around them. It can also lead to agitation, confusion and loss of coordination – all skills that are crucial when driving.”

Police enforcement and crash investigations make one thing clear: driving with drugs in your system is never safe. Officers now have new powers under the Land Transport (Drug Driving) Amendment Act 2025 to randomly drug test drivers at the roadside, with the nationwide rollout, including Canterbury, in 2026.

Last modified: 23 Dec 2025 10:39am