Expert urges zero-tolerance approach to drugs and driving

A TOP medical expert has called for a zero-tolerance approach in relation to driving and illicit drugs.

Professor Denis Cusack of the Medical Bureau of Road Safety (MBRS) made the recommendation after research exposed the scale of the problem in Ireland.

The MBRS, based in University College Dublin, is an independent forensic body responsible for the testing of alcohol and drugs under the Road Traffic Acts.

A study by the bureau and the UCD Departments of Forensic Medicine and Public Health Medicine found that 70% of drivers with essentially zero levels of alcohol tested positive for one or more drugs.

Prof Cusack told the Irish Medical News there were problems with devising a reliable roadside saliva test for drugs. He said law enforcement agencies were using such devices in some states in Australia, but only for cannabis and amphetamines, but there were drawbacks.

A number of countries introduced a zero tolerance approach to the detection of illicit drugs in drivers, including Switzerland, Belgium and some Scandinavian countries. In such countries, drivers must have zero levels of illicit drugs, such as cannabis, speed, ecstasy and cocaine, and it is an offence if they do not, without the necessity to prove impaired driving.

Key findings of the research were:

33% of the drivers just under the drink-drive legal limit for alcohol tested positive for drugs.

14% of drivers over the alcohol limit proved positive for drugs.

The research found that the typical profile of those tested driving under the influence of drugs was that of a young, male, driving in an urban area, with low or zero alcohol level and with the presence of cannabis.