Drug driving programme may be extended

A proposal to automatically test every driver suspected of drink driving for drugs was submitted to the Department of Transport by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS) last year.

Prof Denis A Cusack, head of the MBRS told The Irish Timeslast night that he had submitted the proposal for a massive increase in funding and resources for the bureau to allow it expand its drug-testing programme.

"The Department of Transport has been made aware of increased resource requirements for an expansion of the drugs analysis programme. A formal proposal was given to the Department of Transport in July last year," he said.

This would require a blood or urine sample to be taken from every driver suspected of being intoxicated as there is currently no reliable breath test for drugs.

"In time, it is likely that all blood and urine samples will be tested. But clearly that is subject to adequate resources, because you are talking about a very substantial increase in the number of analyses.

"We have moved into a different era in terms of driving under the prevalence of drugs. All of the legislation required [to expand the drug testing programme] is there. It is simply building on that."

At present, the MBRS only tests for drugs when gardai make a specific request or when a person suspected of being intoxicated shows no evidence of being over the alcohol limit.

In preparation for an expansion, the MBRS has recently hired a senior scientist who will plan the proposed expansion of the bureau's drug testing programme.

Research carried out by the MBRS suggests that one in three drivers who test negative for alcohol subsequently test positive for drugs. And when they also tested a group of 1,000 drivers over the alcohol limit for drugs, they found that 14 per cent had drugs in their system.

The MBRS tests for seven different drugs or drug classes. These include cannabis, amphetamine, meta-amphetamines also known as speed or ecstasy, benzodiazepines, cocaine, opiates and methadone.

The most recent MBRS annual report (from 2005) shows that it tested 747 samples from drivers. In 45 cases the drug test was requested by gardai. In all other cases the driver was tested for drugs after they were found to be under the alcohol limit. The Road Safety Authority's new Road Safety Strategy (2007 to 2011) is likely to propose measures to counter drug driving. Last night, a spokesman for the RSA declined to comment on the extent of these measures saying that it would be inappropriate to speculate until the strategy was complete.

In 2005, more than 14,100 samples from drivers suspected of being over the alcohol limit were tested by the MBRS, an increase of 15 per cent compared with the number of motorists tested the previous year.

The report, which was recently published by the Department of Transport, shows that 9,835 breath samples from drivers suspected of drink driving were given in the 64 Garda stations across the State equipped with an intoxiliyser machine. This was an increase of 22 per cent on the numbers tested in 2004.

More than 80 per cent were over the legal limit and 30 per cent of the samples were more than twice the legal limit. Of the 4,138 blood and urine samples from motorists tested in 2005, in 2,100 cases the alcohol content was found to be more than double the legal limit of 80mg per 1,000 ml.

According to the Garda Annual Report, in 2005 some 11,646 people were arrested for drink-driving and 4,100 were convicted, a rise of 30 per cent compared with 2004.

Part of the reason why the number of arrests is lower than the number of samples tested is that many drivers would have more than one test.

The report also shows that four out of every five drivers arrested and tested for alcohol gave their sample between 9pm and 6am. Just 10 per cent of samples were given between 6am and 4pm, with the remaining 9 per cent of samples during the afternoon and early evening.