Drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

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

Maximum penalty: Varies - up to 18 months imprisonment or 180 penalty units (third or subsequent offence)

Period: 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2023

Jurisdiction: Magistrates' Court

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 Magistrates' Court, 104 charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug were sentenced in the three years to 30 June 2023. The most common sentence for a charge of this offence was a fine (51% or 53 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 104 cases sentenced in the Magistrates' Court in the three years to 30 June 2023, each case included at least one charge of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug. Among the 104 cases, 79 people were male and 25 people were female. The most common outcome for cases was a fine (38.5% or 40 cases).

A case is a collection of one or more charges against a person or company sentenced at the one hearing. Case data is most useful in understanding the total sentence usually imposed on people found guilty of a particular crime.

Figure 1: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 104 charges

Bar graph showing sentence types imposed for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

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

Figure 3: Community correction order lengths for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 22 charges

Bar graph showing lengths of community correction orders for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 3 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 4: Fine amounts for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 18 charges

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 impaired by a drug

See Table 4 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 5: Sentencing outcomes for all charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug by financial year

Number: 104 charges

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

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

Figure 6: Number of charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug by financial year

Number: 104 charges

Bar graph showing the number of charges each year for the offence of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

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

Figure 8: Average fine amounts for charges of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug by financial year

Number: 18 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 impaired by a drug

See Table 8 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 9A: Sentencing outcomes for all people for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 104 cases

Bar graph showing sentence types for all offenders for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 9A in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 9B: Sentencing outcomes for males for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 79 cases

Bar graph showing sentence types for male offenders for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 9B in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 9C: Sentencing outcomes for females for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 25 cases

Bar graph showing sentence types for female offenders for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 9C in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 9D: Sentencing outcomes for people aged under 25 for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 18 cases

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged under 25 for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 9D in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 9E: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 25 to 54 for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 84 cases

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 25 to 54 for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 9E in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 9F: Sentencing outcomes for people aged 55 and over for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 2 cases

Bar graph showing sentence types for offenders aged 55 and over for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 9F in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 10: Imprisonment lengths for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 31 cases, including imprisonment only (15 cases) and imprisonment combined with a community correction order (16 cases).

Bar graph showing imprisonment lengths for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

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

Figure 11: Non-parole periods for all people for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 15 cases

Note: Imprisonment terms do not include a community correction order.

Bar graph showing non-parole periods for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 11 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 12: Community correction order lengths for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

Number: 14 cases

Bar graph showing lengths of community correction orders for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 12 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 13: Sentencing outcomes for all cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug by financial year

Number: 104 cases

Stacked bar graph showing sentences imposed each year for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 13 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 14: Number of cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug for all people by financial year

Number: 104 cases

Bar graph showing the number of cases each year for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 14 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.

Figure 15: Average imprisonment lengths for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug by financial year

Number: 31 cases

Bar graph showing the average imprisonment length each year for cases of drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle while impaired by a drug

See Table 15 in the Excel data file for the data in this graph.