A Florida judge has approved the release of Tiger Woods’ hospital records to prosecutors in his driving-under-the-influence case, while in Queensland, Australia, the state government announced legislation to close a loophole that allowed a methamphetamine-affected driver to escape a drug conviction after a fatal crash. The two developments, alongside a separate investigation into a fatal Tesla crash in Texas, highlight how legal systems on three continents are recalibrating the rules governing driver impairment, testing and liability.

In the United States, the Woods case has drawn attention to implied consent laws that impose automatic licence suspensions on drivers who refuse chemical tests. Spanish-language media have reported that in all states except Wyoming, a refusal to submit to a breathalyser leads to a suspension of up to 12 months, even for a first offence. Woods agreed to a breath test that showed no alcohol but declined a urine test; the hospital records now accessible to prosecutors may clarify what substances were in his system. Separately, in Spain, the traffic authority DGT does not set an age limit for driving but requires drivers over 65 to undergo more frequent medical checks, and those over 70 with certain chronic or degenerative conditions can be denied renewal—a regulatory approach focused on physical fitness rather than substance testing.

In Queensland, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said two bills would be tabled to make the presence of methamphetamine in a dangerous-driving offender’s system an aggravating factor, without the need to prove the drug impaired the driver. The move follows the acquittal of a driver on a drug charge despite high levels of meth in her system after a crash that killed a woman and permanently injured her son. The victim’s husband, Steven Dennis, welcomed the change as a deterrent, while criminal law researcher Simon McKenzie of Griffith University cautioned that the zero-tolerance approach could penalise drivers with trace elements from prior use who are not actually impaired, arguing that a high drug limit would align better with drink-driving standards.

The Texas crash, in which a Tesla Model 3 struck a house and killed a 76-year-old woman, has shifted the focus to automation and human override. An arrest affidavit stated that the driver had activated the car’s Full Self-Driving system but then pressed the accelerator to 100 per cent, reaching 73 mph in a residential zone, with no braking detected. Tesla’s head of AI, Ashok Elluswamy, said the driver manually overrode the system. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation, and the case adds to legal scrutiny of Tesla’s driver-assistance features, including a Florida jury’s partial liability finding and a California judge’s ruling that the company misled consumers about autonomous capabilities. The Queensland legislation is expected to be introduced in the coming weeks, while the Woods case proceeds with the records release and the Tesla probe remains active.