Gardaí to be given powers to catch drug drivers.

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey confirmed yesterday the Government is to press ahead with the controversial bill which will also lower the current drink- driving limit, despite strong opposition from vintner groups and some TDs.

Addressing a seminar hosted by the Road Safety Authority and the European Transport Safety Council in Dublin, Mr Dempsey said the proposed legislation will include provisions for preliminary impairment testing to allow gardaí form an opinion that a motorist is intoxicated due to drugs.

Prof Denis Cusack, head of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, which tests samples in suspected cases of drink/drug driving, said the current inability of gardaí to form an opinion that drivers were under the influence of an intoxicant other than alcohol represented "a serious legislative gap".

Prof Cusack said the issue was a complex area of law. He pointed out that it was estimated that less than 20% of cases of confirmed drug driving actually result in a successful prosecution.

The MBRS has begun a training programme for gardaí in techniques to detect motorists under the influence of a range of drugs, from opiates and cocaine, to antidepressants and other types of medication.

Mr Dempsey said he hoped the new Road Traffic Bill, which is in its final stages, will be published before the end of the month.

It will reduce the current limit of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood to 50mg, which will bring Ireland into line with the legal limit in most other EU countries. A lower limit of 20mg will apply to learner, novice and professional drivers.

"There is no safe level of alcohol you can have that won’t affect your driving," said Mr Dempsey. "There is a fairly persistent minority that feel we should continue as we are but I just don’t think that’s acceptable."

Prof Cusack admitted that it could take up to three years to fully adapt the machines to the proposed new limits. However, he said the risk of being in a serious collision was two to three times less than with the current limit.

Source: Seán McCárthaigh, The Irish Examiner, 13/10/2009