Gardai primed for roadside drug testing

THE FIRST group of gardaí have completed their training in roadside impairment testing ahead of the introduction of a new drug and drink driving enforcement regime in the autumn.

The measures are likely to be introduced alongside the new lower drink driving limits in time for the October bank holiday weekend.

The Medical Bureau of Road Safety has completed the training of 80 gardaí who will act as instructors for the force.

There is no roadside drug testing kit capable of detecting the range of possible drugs that a driver may have consumed. Instead gardaí will use a roadside impairment test to measure body co-ordination such as standing on one leg, walking in a straight line or touching their nose.

If a motorist is suspected of driving while intoxicated, they are likely to be brought to a Garda station and tested for alcohol and other drugs.

In the case of alcohol, an offence is committed if the driver is over certain limits. For drug use, gardai will use an observation of behaviour and assess the driver’s ability to control a vehicle.

The Road Traffic Act 2010 provides gardaí with increased powers for drug-driving enforcement to cut down on the number of drivers under the influence of legal and illegal drugs such as cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine, methadone, ecstasy, opiates such as heroin, or combinations of a number of substances.

Prof Denis Cusack, head of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, said the Garda training in roadside impairment testing is on schedule.

He said he is aware of current tests by the British Home Office of a device which can reportedly detect low levels of drugs in saliva. The machine is for use in police stations, rather than at the roadside, and is used as the basis for a mandatory blood or urine test.

Prof Cusack said that while the tests were interesting, it was too early in the evaluation process to judge whether or not the equipment would prove to be appropriate for station-based drug tests.

In 2008, some 20,600 samples from drivers in the Republic were certified for alcohol and drugs. Of this, approximately 9 per cent – 1,867 samples – were positive for one or more drug.

In 2009, the number of samples dropped to 18,000, of which approximately 2,000 were positive for drugs. “As you can see, 2009 works out at around 11 per cent and the figures for 2010, which will show another fall in the number of samples, will maintain that ratio,” Prof Cusack said.

On the issue of drink driving, he said the calibration and verification of the new intoxilyser machines capable of testing at the new lower blood alcohol limits of 50mg and 20mg was underway and that the bureau was on target to meet its deadline of October.

“It will then be a matter for the Minister to decide when he wants to sign the commencement orders,” he said.