New data from the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) has indicated a continued rise in impaired driving across the state.
The organisation’s 2025 Annual Road Safety Survey found that 15.7% of drivers surveyed acknowledged having driven under the influence of alcohol – the highest figure since the survey’s launch in 2017. A further 6.1% reported driving after using illegal drugs.
According to RACQ, these behaviours have coincided with an upward trend in fatalities.
Between 2020 and 2024, Queensland recorded an annual average of 57 drink driving-related deaths and 59 from drug-related crashes.
These figures have increased compared with 2019, when 46 deaths were linked to alcohol and 43 to drugs out of a total of 220 road fatalities.
Dr. Michael Kane, RACQ’s head of public policy, said the results point to a change in road safety attitudes.
“We clearly have an increasing drink and drug driving cultural problem in Queensland, and it’s causing serious harm to our communities,” he said. “These aren’t just numbers – they’re people who never made it home to their families and friends who are now grieving.”
The survey also revealed that more than half of drivers who admitted to drink driving had changed their routes to avoid police testing sites, while 40% used mobile apps to identify the locations of roadside checks.
In response, RACQ is calling for an increase in roadside drug and alcohol testing, including mandatory drug screening at all crash sites.
The motoring group is also advocating for more funding for addiction support services to address underlying behaviours.
Additionally, RACQ is proposing tougher consequences for repeat offenders, such as extended vehicle impoundment powers that would allow authorities to remove high-risk drivers from the road more quickly.
Kane said Queensland’s drug test positivity rate in 2023 was 21%, more than double that of New South Wales, despite lower testing frequency.
“We are seeing more police back on our roads, but RACQ wants a continued increase of roadside drug and alcohol testing to expand the likelihood of dangerous drivers being caught,” he said.
RACQ is also raising concerns about e-mobility safety, following a spike in injury-related incidents and insurance claims involving e-scooters and e-bikes.
In a submission to a state parliamentary inquiry, the motoring group called for police to be given powers to seize non-compliant personal mobility devices, particularly those exceeding legal speed thresholds or lacking registration.
Under Queensland law, such vehicles are categorised as unregistered motorcycles and cannot legally operate on public roads or pathways.
While acknowledging that e-mobility devices provide transport options, RACQ said that illegally operated models present growing risks.
“We’re calling on the state government to use existing laws to impound these illegal and dangerous devices and remove them from our roads and pathways. These devices greatly increase the risk of severe injury or death,” said Joshua Cooney, RACQ’s general manager of advocacy.
