One in five drug drivers: Victoria’s worst-offending region revealed

In one Melbourne suburb, drug drivers outnumber the next-worst neighbourhood threefold as police catch at least one a day.

Pakenham, on the city’s south-eastern outer fringe, has topped Victoria as the suburb with the most drug drivers, after police caught 358 offenders there during the 2024-25 financial year.

The mega-suburb is also Victoria’s most common place of residence for drug drivers.

The number of drug drivers intercepted in Pakenham is triple that of Victoria’s second-worst offending suburb, Dandenong, also in the city’s south-east. Police intercepted 114 drug drivers in Dandenong.

Harman Bhatti, a Pakenham resident for just over three years, called the rise in drug-driving and other road-related crime deeply concerning. One of his friends recently witnessed an accident caused by a driver who was under the influence and travelling on the wrong side of the road.

“It’s not been as safe as it used to be before … we are a little bit more concerned,” he said.

Almost one in five drug drivers in Victoria, or a total of 1460 offenders, was caught in the broader region of Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia, outnumbering the second-worst area, Greater Geelong, threefold.

Of the drug drivers caught in the worst-offending region, almost 70 per cent were on methamphetamine, and 43 per cent had both methamphetamine and THC in their systems.

One-quarter were unauthorised drivers, Victoria Police said.

The broader region also recorded the most collisions involving drug and alcohol-impaired drivers of anywhere in the state. Six in 10 of its drug drivers were repeat offenders.

“It’s not only extremely concerning that half of drug drivers in our area have been caught for the same offence before, but also reckless,” Cardinia Highway Patrol Acting Sergeant Kristina Tabone said.

“We see too often the tragic consequences of poor choices on our roads. If drivers continue to take illicit substances and decide to drive, tragedy is inevitable.”

Victoria Police is concentrating officers in Pakenham and its surrounding areas to catch drug drivers.

Amy Herbert, manager of policy and engagement at the Alcohol and Drug Foundation, said the dangers of drug use while driving can include increased risk-taking, drowsiness and reduced reaction times or concentration levels.

“Road trauma doesn’t just affect those who are involved in a crash – it has a ripple effect on the community,” she said.

Herbert said while law enforcement was crucial when it came to reducing drug-driving incidents, it was also important to provide adequate systems of support.

“It is just as important that our communities have access to appropriate alcohol and other drug prevention programs, early help for people at risk and treatment services,” Herbert said.

The third-worst suburbs for drug drivers in the state were Frankston, also in Melbourne’s far south-east, and Shepparton, in Victoria’s north.

Over the past 20 years, Pakenham, which is about 55 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD, has transitioned from a country town to a mega-suburb where the local population ballooned from 17,225 in 2000 to almost 55,000 in 2021, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.

By 2041, 83,000 people are forecast to live in Pakenham.

Adele Leeming, who has lived in Pakenham since 2010, said she had noticed a higher police presence in the area recently, including mobile security cameras.

“We have the [police] helicopter here quite often … they’ve done a lot [of patrolling] around the shops … which is really good,” she said.

While Leeming said she had encountered other issues such as vandalism and hoon driving, her experience in the south-eastern suburb has been overall a positive one.

“I’ve never really felt unsafe,” she said.

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