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Driving Under the Influence of Drugs


Accredited Specialist in Criminal Law

Section12(1) of the Road Transport (Safety and Traffic Management) Act 1999) which creates the offence of DUI of alcohol also creates the offence of DUI of a drug.

There are now provisions in place for police to carry out random tests of drivers for the detection of the presence of drugs (see the section on DUI - Random Drug Testing).

If police pull over a person because of the way the vehicle is being driven and they carry out a random breath test but the driver does not indicate a positive breath test for Alcohol, then the officer may suspect that the driver is DUI - driving under the influence of a drug. He is then entitled under s.25 of the act to carry out what is called a "sobriety test". If the driver refuses or fails the sobriety test, then he is arrested and police are empowered to have taken a sample of the driver's blood or urine which is submitted for analysis.

Defence:
S. 28 of the Act sets out the circumstances when police are not permitted to carry out a sobriety assessment. They are similar to those pertaining to breath testing, except that there is a 4 hour time limit for the taking of blood samples and a 2 hour limit in the case of oral fluids.

A person might also be under the influence of prescribed medication and guilty of the offence of DUI. It matters little, in reality, what it is that is affecting the driver, if such person is a danger on the road owing to him/her Driving Under the Influence (DUI) of anything that affects his/her driving.




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