Drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs

Legislation: Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic) s 49(1)(bb)

Maximum penalty: Varies - 12 to 120 penalty units

Period: 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2024

Jurisdiction: higher courts

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of an offence
On SACStat, a case is a collection of one or more charges sentenced at a hearing

*Note: unavailable options have under 10 cases

Charge data

In the higher courts, 53 charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs were sentenced in the five years to 30 June 2024. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was a fine (81.1% or 43 charges).

On SACStat, a charge is a single count of a sentenced offence. Charge data is most useful in understanding how a specific crime is usually sentenced.

Case data

In the higher courts, drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs was the principal proven offence (the most serious crime in the case) in fewer than 10 cases in the five years to 30 June 2024. Therefore, outcomes for cases are not given for this offence.

Figure 1: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs

Number: 53 charges

Bar graph showing sentence types imposed for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs

See Table 1 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 5: Fine amounts for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs

Number: 39 charges

Range and median: The lowest fine amount is $150, the highest is $1,000, and the median is $500, meaning that half of the fine amounts are below $500 and half are above.

Note: The graph only includes fines that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate fines).

Bar graph showing fine amounts for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs

See Table 5 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 6: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs by financial year

Number: 53 charges

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs

See Table 6 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 7: Number of charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs by financial year

Number: 53 charges

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs

See Table 7 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 10: Average fine amounts for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs by financial year

Number: 39 charges

Note: The graph only includes fines that were not part of an aggregate sentence (non-aggregate fines).

Bar graph showing fines amounts each year for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding the prescribed concentration of drugs

See Table 10 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.