This OIA request concerns the evidential basis for roadside oral-fluid drug testing

Kia ora Tracy,

  

Thank you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), received by the Ministry of Health – Manatū Hauora on 4 May 2026. You requested:

 

“This request concerns the evidential basis for roadside oral-fluid drug testing, including whether agencies assessed post-2020 changes in public health, prescription medicine use, medical treatment, vaccination status, safety-critical worker health, cardiovascular events, neurological events, and crash causation.

This request does not assert any particular cause. It seeks the records showing what was assessed, what was ruled in or out, and what evidence was relied upon before compulsory roadside biological testing was implemented.

 

1. Evidence relied on for the “30% of road deaths” claim

Please provide all documents, reports, data tables, briefings, Cabinet papers, ministerial advice, modelling, statistical analysis, or internal/external reviews relied upon for claims that approximately 30% of road deaths involve drugs or impairing drugs.

Please include documents showing whether the relevant data distinguishes between:

drug presence;

actual impairment;

causation of the crash;

prescription medicine use;

over-the-counter medicine use;

illicit drug use;

alcohol overlap;

fatigue;

speed;

distraction;

medical events;

cardiovascular events;

neurological events;

weather, road design, or vehicle defects.

 

2. Presence versus impairment

Please provide all documents assessing whether the roadside drug-testing regime proves:

drug presence only;

recent use;

impairment;

unsafe driving;

causation of a crash.

Please provide any advice discussing the evidential distinction between “drug present in blood/oral fluid” and “driver impaired by drugs”.

 

3. Post-2020 comparison and trend analysis

Please provide all documents comparing drug-related road crashes, serious injuries, fatal crashes, or medical-event-related crashes across the periods:

2015–2019;

2020–2021;

2022–2023;

2024–2026.

Please include any documents analysing whether there were changes in:

prescription medicine use;

antidepressant use;

sedative use;

opioid or codeine use;

cancer-treatment medicine use;

chemotherapy-related medicine use;

antihistamine use;

ADHD medicine use;

cardiovascular events while driving;

neurological events while driving;

sudden incapacitation events;

fatigue-related crashes;

truck driver crashes;

commercial driver crashes;

pilot or safety-critical worker medical events.

 

4. Prescription medicines, chemotherapy, and lawful treatment

Please provide all documents assessing whether roadside oral-fluid testing, laboratory testing, or drug-driving enforcement may be affected by people taking:

prescription pain medication;

codeine or opioid medicines;

benzodiazepines;

sleeping medication;

antidepressants;

antipsychotics;

ADHD medication;

antihistamines;

cough and cold medicines;

anti-nausea medicines;

epilepsy medicines;

cancer-treatment medicines;

chemotherapy-related medicines;

immune-modulating therapies;

multiple prescribed medicines at the same time.

Please include any documents assessing false positives, false negatives, cross-reactivity, residual presence, lawful-medication detection, and whether such detection proves impairment.

 

5. Vaccination status and biological-variable assessment

Please provide all documents, if any, assessing whether vaccination status, post-vaccination immune response, inflammatory response, mRNA vaccine exposure, vaccine excipients, or other post-vaccination biological variables were considered in relation to:

oral-fluid drug-testing reliability;

laboratory drug-testing reliability;

false-positive risk;

false-negative risk;

saliva/oral-fluid chemistry;

cardiovascular events;

neurological events;

driver medical fitness;

crash causation;

safety-critical worker medical monitoring.

For clarity, this request does not assert that vaccination causes drug-test positives or driving impairment. It asks whether the issue was assessed, considered, excluded, or not considered.

 

6. Safety-critical workers: truck drivers, pilots, maritime operators

Please provide all documents assessing post-2020 health, incapacitation, or medication trends among safety-critical workers, including:

truck drivers;

bus drivers;

taxi/rideshare/passenger-service drivers;

pilots;

air traffic controllers;

maritime operators;

rail operators;

emergency-service drivers.

Please include any documents concerning:

vaccination requirements or mandates;

medical exemptions;

reported adverse events;

sudden incapacitation;

cardiovascular events;

neurological events;

medical certificate suspensions or restrictions;

accident or incident trends;

whether such matters were considered when justifying roadside drug testing.

 

7. Pilots and aviation medical events

For the Civil Aviation Authority and any other relevant agency:

Please provide all documents from 2015 to the present concerning trends in:

pilot incapacitation;

cardiovascular events among pilots;

neurological events among pilots;

in-flight medical events;

sudden death or serious medical events involving pilots;

medical certificate suspensions following cardiovascular or neurological issues;

post-2020 changes in pilot medical fitness reporting;

any assessment of vaccination status, prescription medicine use, or post-2020 health changes in aviation safety.

Please include any documents discussing whether medical practitioners, aviation medical examiners, airlines, or CAA were required to report such matters.

 

8. Public health and driver fitness advice

Please provide all advice, guidance, public communications, or internal documents concerning whether people should avoid driving while taking:

chemotherapy-related medicines;

opioids or codeine;

sedatives;

antidepressants;

benzodiazepines;

sleeping pills;

antihistamines;

ADHD medication;

multiple medicines;

any medicine listed as potentially impairing driving.

Please include any analysis of whether the public was adequately warned before roadside drug testing was introduced.

 

9. Medical defence

Please provide all documents concerning the medical defence process for roadside drug-testing infringements, including:

whether the defence applies before infringement or only after;

what evidence a driver must provide;

how prescription use is assessed;

whether the driver must bear the burden of proving lawful use;

whether a non-impaired driver may still be penalised because of medicine presence;

whether fairness concerns were assessed.

 

10. If no documents exist

If any part of this request is refused under section 18(e) on the basis that information does not exist or cannot be found, please state:

what searches were undertaken;

which systems were searched;

what keywords were used;

which teams, units, or business groups were consulted;

who made the decision that the information does not exist;

whether the issue was considered before rollout;

whether the absence of such assessment was reported to Ministers.”
 

The reference number for your request is H2026082314. We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible and in any event no later than 2 June 2026 being 20 working days after the day your request was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will notify you of an extension of that timeframe.

 

If you have any queries regarding your request, please feel free to contact the OIA Services Team on [email protected]. If any additional factors come to light which are relevant to your request, please do not hesitate to contact us so that these can be taken into account. 

 

Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman may be contacted by email at: [email protected] or by calling 0800 802 602.

 

 

Ngā mihi, 
 
OIA Services Team

Ministry of Health | Manatū Hauora

 

Ministry of Health information releases