Police have completed more than 300 roadside drug-driving screening tests across the Wellington region since mid-December and issued seven infringements as of 18 February, as the pilot feeds into a national rollout set to begin in April.

Superintendent Steve Greally, Director of Road Policing, said feedback from both the public and frontline staff has been “positive and valuable,” and the operational lessons from the past two months will inform how the programme is scaled. Police expect to be testing across the country by mid-2026.

Testing has been running across Kāpiti, Porirua, Wellington City, the Hutt Valley and through to Masterton. The seven infringements from more than 300 screenings indicate an infringement rate of just over 2 percent.

Police also underlined that a prescription or medical note cannot be used at the roadside to avoid a test or to dispute a positive saliva screening result. “The message is still the same for drivers who drive impaired by drugs – don’t take drugs and drive,” Superintendent Greally said. “You need to know what you are taking and how it might affect driving and any period of time where it is unsafe to drive. If you intend to get behind the wheel after consuming impairing drugs, you will be caught.”

Police did not provide a breakdown of positive screening results, refusals, or other enforcement outcomes beyond the seven infringements.

The national rollout is intended to sit alongside existing alcohol enforcement, with Police positioning roadside drug testing as a deterrent to impaired driving ahead of wider deployment from April.