Procedure will allow blood samples to be taken as close as possible to time of collision.
The testing of unconscious drivers involved in crashes for the presence of alcohol and drugs and the introduction of roadside impairment tests are due to start next month.
Testing of unconscious drivers will allow blood samples to be taken as close as possible to the time of a collision because levels of intoxicants can fall significantly by the time an incapacitated driver regains consciousness.
The new law will give gardaí authority to direct a doctor attending the injured person to take a blood sample.
This sample will be stored but not analysed until the person was in a position to give consent for it to be analysed. A refusal to provide consent will be an offence, in the same way as refusing to provide a breath sample during a mandatory alcohol test checkpoint.
The Irish Medical Organisation has welcomed the proposal as a deterrent to drink driving while road safety groups such as Parc said it would reduce incidences of a driver feigning injury in a bid to avoid being tested.
It is mandatory for all drivers involved in a serious injury collision to be tested for alcohol and drugs.
Source: David Labanyi, The Irish Times, 20/08/2014
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