New roadside drug tests are on the way. That is the big news from the proposed new Road Traffic Bill 2015.
The Road Safety Authority and other government agencies appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transportation and Communications last week to assist the committee's pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill.
It is a timely development as there has been an increase in road deaths over the last two years. New measures are needed to tackle road-safety challenges.
The economy is picking up and there is an increase in new-vehicle sales. So there are more on the road and more kilometres being covered. There are also more people looking for a theory test, a learner permit and a driving test. All positive signs, but it means road users now face increasing risks as a result.
The biggest measure in the Bill is the one that will introduce chemical roadside testing to tackle drug driving. It was described in the committee as a 'very significant advance in the measures relating to drug driving'.
Professor Cusack, head of the Medial Bureau of Road Safety, the state body for testing blood and urine specimens taken by gardaí, told the Committee that driving under the influence of drugs remains a significant problem.
Approximately one-in-ten drivers killed in crashes has a positive toxicology for a drug, or drugs. That clearly justifies the need for a device, similar to the roadside breathalyser for alcohol, to tackle the problem. We also know there is strong public support for this testing, as an attitude survey of 1,000 motorists conducted by the RSA last November showed 93pc agree gardai should have the power to conduct roadside testing.
Source: Irish Independent, 29/04/15
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