"Methadonians" are DUI VIPs

Road Safety Group Candor Trust is outraged by yesterdays Judicial offering of "quite possibly the worlds tiniest ever jail sentence for homicide while driving under the influence (DUI)," in the Christchurch Court.

The last 5 years we've seen an unabated flood of road crime that is sourced to a failing methadone program. It's expanded to the point staff have 100 patients instead of the 30 that is legally mandated elsewhere, says Rachael Ford (Co-ordinator).

Recidivist drug driver Nadine Atkinson who senselessly and brutally killed 77 year old Ron Duff, as he putted about on his mobility scooter around lunchtime a year ago, had also endangered the life of her own child by driving stoned that day.

She claimed she wasn't warned about her driving fitness by medical professionals, which seems likely given the Health and Disability Commissioner found lack of adequate warnings contributed to another patient killing a Christchurch Nurse.

However the Judge showed a marked lack of judgement in not finding any of Nadines behaviour lacking as per the sentence of 1 year, which in real terms amounts to 6 months incarceration, perhaps on home detention, per parole entitlements.

"She was all over the road - she knew she was out of it," say Candor. And the fact it was a prescribed medicine is irrelevant as alcohol is also legal. The Judiciary needs to realise that the law makes no distinction between licit and illicit substances, and stop harping on with "but it was what the Dr ordered".

They need to realise that two so called licit drugs are easily the most dangerous on road by their culpability ratings - alcohol and opiates, followed by marijuana with lower culpability which high use raises significance of in real traffic conditions.

"What could anyone conclude other than that this inhumane Judge is Public Enemy Number One to road safety or deranged - he seems to have treated being a drug addict as mitigating factor, or having a script as a feasible excuse".

Imagine the result if alcoholism was mitigating for drink drivers, or you could blame the bar tender. "All it requires for evil to flourish is for good men in positions of influence to do nothing," said the bitterly disappointed Trust Mrs Ford from Wellington today.

Comparable offenses highlight the injustice of yesterdays sentencing;

Luke Voice killed while driving under influence of methadone - 2 years, 7 months in Blenheim Court

James Palmer badly injured 2 teenagers in a head-on while driving on methadone - 18 months (Christchurch)

Wellington born Sandra Wilde, deported back in February mowed down triathlete Luke Harrop in Queensland and was sentenced to 26 months.

But her sentence was increased to five years by Appeal Court after public outrage.

Drink driver Shannon Perenara was sentenced to 18 months for killing no-one, but in fair recognition that he had a vulnerable child aboard when he drove drunk.

In Maine (U.S.A) last month John Allen got a minimum of 8 years for the manslaughter of Professor Weisbein while DUI methadone. His Defender noted that if Allen got "anything less, it would diminish the seriousness of what he did".

"We already have the lightest maximum penalties in the world for this", say Candor. The penalty handed down was one available and suited to someone who drove drugged yet had not hurt a flea according to our sentencing guidelines - and light at that as up to 2 years is available for that".

Ford (Candor Co-ordinator) asks "How can I have any credibility now when I go to run sessions where I'm trying to tell people that if they kill while driving impaired they're looking at anywhere between 3 and 5 years?"

The Trust has established that there are 400-600 high risk methadone patients of a populsation of 4000 experiencing crash after crash, while their Drs in many cases play God, claiming its all to the greater good.

"At least the 3000 recidivist drink drivers are not cheer leaded by Publicans. All we need is Judges jumping aboard to protect the investment interests of senior public servants - in Aucklands thriving methadone lab".

New Zealands heroin replacement patients on methadone face serious traffic charges at 12x the rate of untreated heroin users - this is easily discernible from each populations relative rate of traffic convictions and associated road deaths.

The UK has no such problem as it has put strict conditions on methadone patients driving in recent years. Extensive searches find no incidents of methadone killers.

Our revolving door from the methadone clinics to stretchers headed for A and E
departments and morgues is not helping an already dire situation for kids.

Uncontrolled DUI in NZ gives Kiwi kids 3 x the chance of dying in a crash at 3.3
deaths per 100,000 kids yearly than from 'maltreatment' at home, and in 2005 676
under 15's were admitted with significant crash trauma.

A recent blitz in the Bay of Plenty found that a fifth of drink drivers had kids aboard, but the rate would be higher with unstable methadone users, as parents get preference to hop on the program.

Host responsibility is important at methadone clinics, and that is what Candor is repeatedly asking the Government to work towards.

"This latest outrage just proves at the cost of Ron Duffs life that the Health & Disability Commissions year long Inquiry to my Mums lunchtime killers medical
care at a methadone clinic, back in 2004 was an exercise in futility," says Mrs
Ford.

"If the HDC had made the changes we suggested Mr Duff would still be here". With yet another methadone patient to appear in Court this month regarding a crash at Springfield (3 News, January) it is time for the Health and Disability Commission to revisit it's findings regarding methadone and driving.

They should spearhead an appropriate response to this public health disaster, for once and for all. Because never again should the public be put on the chopping block by professionals.

It's not allowed in England where a Dr was recently disciplined for not dobbing in a trucky on methadone, and nor should it be here. Putting unstable methadone patients at the wheels of big rigs is not heping anyone. It did not help Trevor Hankin or his family when he died in a spectacular truck crash near Hastings.

The victim tally from methadone sozzled folk on our roads is unacceptably high.

Candor say the following safeguards are required for the future

1. Police must automatically refer parents caught transporting kids while drunk
or stoned to CYPFS
2. Urgent priority must be given to updating Land Transports Medical Fitness
Guidelines regarding methadone, so that high risk patients such as persistent
drug misusers can be removed from the road or placed on strict conditions.
3. The Drug Driving Bill in the writing must not make driving impaired on
methadone kosher legally as was threatened by the Police Minister in a policy
document on December 13th 2006
4. Drs should be prohibited by law from trying to manage over 30 methadone users
5. Introduce buprenorphine, which is more driver friendly than methadone

Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder and patients on long acting heroin
substitutes like methadone require close monitoring of their driving fitness and
prompt attention to difficulties.

"The Government can't keep plying addict drivers with drugs so carelessly, not
at such great and mounting costs to all of our personal safety in the daytime".

But a strong message went out yesterday from the bench which will have been well received by all drug addicts that they may kill indiscriminately in broad daylight, as 6 months in jail is a lark.

"The Judge is a good candidate for a public flogging in the view of many here at Candor, and The Health and Disability Commission should be down on his knees apologising to the Duff family - 77 years of life wiped out, for a hand slap."

On all the scientific evidence, our Justice systems mismanagement of Nadine Atkinsons case will directly contribute to dangerous recidivism. Everyone loses.

ENDS

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