Seanad debates

Thursday, 27 November 2003

Road Traffic Bill 2003: Second and Subsequent Stages.

 

I want to ask the Minister about drug testing. We appear to focus totally on alcohol and the effects of drink driving but, unfortunately, drugs are very common nowadays and have the same effect as alcohol. They impair one's co-ordination, visibility, judgment and so on. In countries that have a "drugalyser" test, road fatalities have been reduced. I am referring to both legal and illegal drugs, people who use class A drugs such as cocaine, heroin or cannabis or people who are genuinely on anti-depressants or amphetamines. Some people who have a severe flu take tablets which can cause drowsiness and then drive. These people still go behind the wheel of a car and think nothing of it. This area should be highlighted. Perhaps the Minister will consider this area when bringing forward plans next year to introduce random breath testing. Perhaps he will use the fantastic opportunity as Minister for Transport during the EU Presidency to launch a scheme in Europe. I assume that if such a test were introduced, people who are convicted of drug driving would not just receive penalty points but would face the same reprimand as people who are caught for drink driving. At the end of the day, these people are in charge of a vehicle that can cause death and are driving, in effect, a very dangerous weapon. We must realise there is a big drug problem in this country.

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