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A Wellington man has tested positive for methamphetamine while driving with his young daughter in the car. 

It is the first positive result through the police’s new oral fluid screening testing. 

The 40-year-old was pulled into a checkpoint on Hutt Rd just before 9pm on Thursday. 

Police used the new device that screens for the presence of four drugs: cannabis, methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine. 

The test came back positive for meth, which required the man to provide a saliva sample for laboratory testing. 

He couldn’t provide a sufficient sample and was then required to provide a blood sample, which he refused. 

Director of road policing Superintendent Steve Greally said the driver was summonsed to court for refusing the blood sample request and has lost his driver licence for 28 days. 

He is due to appear in the Hutt Valley District Court in January 2026. 

“We took him and his daughter safely home in a police car,” Greally said. 

The superintendent said he has seen some of the most harrowing scenes caused by drug driving that will stay with him forever. 

“I’ve seen the devastation etched on the faces of whānau when they hear the unthinkable: that their loved one is gone.” 

Greally said he makes no apology for testing drivers to see if they have taken drugs and is relieved police now have the tools to screen drivers for recent use. 

“It’s a step that could save countless lives. 

“Don’t take drugs and drive.” 

The launch of roadside drug-testing began on December 15 in Wellington and is expected to be rolled out to the rest of the country in 2026. 

For the tests, motorists will wipe the drug screening device’s pads on their tongue and wait about 10 minutes for a result. 

This is one of the biggest changes in road policing since 1993, when compulsory breath-testing and speed cameras were introduced.