This will be mandatory for all drivers involved in serious crashes.

From midnight on Friday, gardaí will be legally required to carry out drug tests on all drivers involved in serious road traffic accidents. The move comes just before the bank holiday weekend, with Forbidden Fruit, AVA, and Open Ear Festival all taking place over the three days.

Up until now, gardaí have had a discretionary power to test for drugs in drivers’ systems. However, as part of the government’s plan to curb fatalities in traffic accidents, the government has made this compulsory. Minister of State for Transport, Jack Chambers has said “Driving under the influence is one of the four main causes of road fatalities and it is simply unacceptable. Ensuring that enforcement by An Garda Síochána is underpinned by robust road traffic legislation is a priority for me and my Department.”

So how does the test work? Gardaí will be using oral fluid tests, known as the Drager Drugtest 5000. Once a driver has supplied an oral fluid sample for testing, there will be a maximum wait time of 30 minutes before a result is given. According to the RSA, if the driver tests positive for cocaine or cannabis, they will automatically be arrested on the spot and brought to the station for a blood test, whether the driver appears impaired or not. The test is then sent to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS) for further testing.

If the oral sample tests positive for benzodiazepines or opiates and the Garda believes the driver is impaired, they will be arrested on the spot and brought to the station for a blood test, which will be sent to the MBRS for further testing. However, if the driver tests positive for any of these four substances and the Garda believes the driver is not impaired, they will not be arrested as no driving offence has been committed.

If the drivers oral fluid tests negative but the Garda is of the opinion that you are impaired due to a different drug that the device doesn’t pick up, such as methamphetamines and amphetamines, the driver will be arrested and brought to the station where a blood or urine specimen will be collected and sent to the MBRS for analysis.

According to garda.ie ‘s “Frequently Asked Questions” list, the The Drager Drugtest 5000 “will detect 9 -Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in cannabis, in oral fluid for about 6 hours after last use. If you are sure you are no longer impaired as result of taking cannabis and more than 6 hours have elapsed since last use it should not be possible for a Garda to detect impairment and the 9-Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level in you oral fluid should be lower than the detection limit for the Cannabis test.” However they also mention that “It is recommended to wait 24 hours after last using cannabis before driving.”

All drug driving penalties include a minimum disqualification from driving for one year on the first offence, and two years on the second offence. The maximum penalty for all drug driving offences is a €5,000 fine and up to 6 months imprisonment on summary conviction.

For more informaiton on penalties visit the RSA website.

Elsewhere on District: Ireland Has a Toxic Algorithm Problem, Why is it Being Ignored?