BIG RISE IN DRUG-DRIVING REVEALED BY SURVEY

A significant increase in the incidence of driving under the influence
of drugs has been found in a new survey by the Medical Bureau of Road
Safety.

Some 37 per cent of samples taken from drivers who were stopped by
gardai last year on suspicion of drink driving, but found to be under
the legal alcohol limit, tested positive for drugs.

This compares to just 14.6 per cent in a survey conducted between 1987
and 1991.

Cannabis was found to be the most common drug, showing up in 34 per
cent of samples, minor tranquilisers or benzodiazepines in 25 per
cent, amphetamines such as ecstasy in 16 per cent, opiates in 14 per
cent, methadone in 7 per cent and cocaine in 4 per cent.

The occurrence of polydrug use was frequent with 45 per cent of
positive samples containing two or more types of drugs, and 3 per cent
containing five types of drug.

Prof Denis Cusack, of the bureau, which operates through University
College Dublin's department of forensic medicine, said the findings
highlighted the need for a major public awareness campaign on the
dangers of drug-driving.

He said the bureau would be proposing such a public awareness campaign
when it meets a Department of Environment and Local Government
committee on road safety in the coming weeks.

The Garda Siochana does not have figures for drug-driving convictions
but a Garda spokesman said they accounted for less than 5 per cent of
convictions under the 1961 Road Traffic Act, which made driving under
the influence of an intoxicant, including alcohol, a criminal offence.

Under the Act, limits for drug intake are not specified. Rather, it up
to the medical professional in a particular case to decide whether a
drug contributed to driver impairment.

A total of 338 samples were tested between June and December last year
for the study.

While all samples taken were under the legal alcohol limit, alcohol
was discovered in four out of five cases. The survey noted that driver
impairment could be greatly enhanced by the interaction between drugs
and alcohol, even at low levels.