Legislation to underpin use of new roadside drug testing machines

Gardaí will be equipped with new drug testing machines next year in a bid to crack down on drug driving, Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe has said.

Mr Donohoe said new legislation will be introduced before next year’s general election to underpin the use of new roadside testing devices, while sanctions for getting behind the wheel under the influence of drugs will also be toughened.

Around 150 new testing machines have been ordered by the Medical Bureau of Road Safety and will be handed over to An Garda Síochána next year, the Irish Independent reports.

The machines can be used for roadside tests where a swab of saliva is taken from a driver’s cheek and analysed for various substances.

Mr Donohoe said: “I have learned from my time as Minister for Transport that if the legal foundations in relation to road traffic legislation are not as robust as possible, it leads to challenges in court and it leads to problems with the implementation of road traffic law.

“And it is for that reason that we will have new primary legislation in place to underpin the use of these new devices.”

Earlier this year, Mr Donohoe was forced to introduce emergency legislation underpinning the use of roadside testing for drink driving after the High Court ruled that statements issued by the Evidenzer machines in garda stations were not legally valid.