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374 PDFTitle:Road Traffic OrdinanceGazette Number:E.R. 2 of 2012
Section:39KHeading:Driving motor vehicle with any concentration of specified illicit drugVersion Date:02/08/2012

(1) A person who drives or attempts to drive, or is in charge of, a motor vehicle on any road while any concentration of a specified illicit drug is present in the person’s blood or urine (whether or not any other drug is also so present) commits an offence and is liable—

    (a) on conviction on indictment, to a fine at level 4 and to imprisonment for 3 years; and
    (b) on summary conviction—
        (i) on a first offence under this subsection, to a fine at level 3 and to imprisonment for 6 months;
        (ii) subsequent to a conviction on indictment under this subsection, to a fine at level 4 and to imprisonment for 12 months;
        (iii) subsequent to a summary conviction under this subsection, to a fine at level 4 and to imprisonment for 12 months; or
        (iv) subsequent to a conviction under section 39J, 39L, 39O(1) or 39S, to a fine at level 4 and to imprisonment for 12 months.
(2) If a court or magistrate convicts a person of an offence under subsection (1), the court or magistrate must order that the person be disqualified in accordance with subsection (3) or (4) unless the court or magistrate for special reasons orders that the person be disqualified for a shorter period or that the person not be disqualified.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), the period for which the person is to be disqualified—
    (a) for a first conviction, is a period of not less than 2 years; and
    (b) for a subsequent conviction, is a period of not less than 5 years.
(4) If the court or magistrate has ordered the person to attend and complete a driving improvement course under section 72A(1A), the person is to be disqualified—
    (a) for a first conviction, for a period of not less than 2 years, or until the person has attended and completed the course at his or her own cost, whichever is the later; and
    (b) for a subsequent conviction, for a period of not less than 5 years, or until the person has attended and completed the course at his or her own cost, whichever is later.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (2), a person to whom subsection (4) applies is disqualified for a shorter period if the period for which he or she is disqualified—
    (a) for a first conviction, is a period of less than 2 years, or until the person has attended and completed the driving improvement course at his or her own cost, whichever is the later; and
    (b) for a subsequent conviction, is a period of less than 5 years, or until the person has attended and completed the driving improvement course at his or her own cost, whichever is the later.
(6) The court or magistrate may deal with the offence as a first offence, or the conviction of an offence as a first conviction, if, as at the date on which the offence was committed, at least 5 years have passed since the person’s last conviction under subsection (1) or section 39J, 39L, 39O(1) or 39S.
(7) It is a defence for a person charged under subsection (1) to prove that—
    (a) if only one specified illicit drug was present in his or her blood or urine, that drug; or
    (b) if more than one specified illicit drug was present in his or her blood or urine, every such drug,
was a specified illicit drug that was prescribed for or administered or supplied to the person by a healthcare professional.
(8) A person is taken not to have been in charge of a motor vehicle if he or she proves that at the material time the circumstances were such that there was no likelihood of the person’s driving the motor vehicle so long as any concentration of a specified illicit drug was present in his or her blood or urine.
(9) The court or magistrate may, in determining whether there was such a likelihood as is mentioned in subsection (8), disregard any injury to the person and any damage to the motor vehicle.
(10) On the trial of a person charged with an offence under subsection (1), the person charged may be acquitted of the offence under subsection (1) and be found guilty of one or more offences under section 37 or 38 and, to avoid doubt, subsection (7) does not apply to those offences.
(11) In this section—
first conviction (首次定罪) means a conviction on a first offence under subsection (1) (whether a conviction on indictment or a summary conviction);
healthcare professional (醫護專業人員) has the meaning given by section 39J(15).
subsequent conviction (再次定罪) means—
    (a) a conviction subsequent to a first conviction; or
    (b) a conviction referred to in subsection (1)(b)(ii), (iii) or (iv).
(12) In this section a reference to a conviction for an offence under subsection (1) includes a conviction pursuant to section 39J(12)(a).
(Added 24 of 2011 s. 14)