Drivers in St. Clair County will be among the first in the state who could be required to submit to roadside drug testing. The pilot program for the roadside drug testing begins Wednesday in five counties: Berrien, Delta, Kent, St. Clair and Washtenaw.
The counties were chosen based on criteria including the number of impaired crashes reported and the number of Drug Recognition Experts in the county. DREs are law enforcement officials trained to recognize drugged drivers.
"We're really excited to be chosen as one of the five counties," said St. Clair County Prosecutor Mike Wendling.
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The testing involves taking a swab of the driver's mouth, as well as a 12-step evaluation. Drivers who refuse to submit to a preliminary oral fluid analysis face being ticketed for a civil infraction.
DREs will be provided handheld devices that the swab will be inserted into. The devices recognize drugs including amphetamines, benzodiazepine, cannabis, cocaine, methamphetamine and opioids and gives a reading within a few minutes, said Michigan State Police Special First Lt. Jim Flegel.
While the pilot is being managed by the Michigan State Police, the testing will also be utilized by county and municipal agencies.
Wendling said local officials started working on this pilot program following a double fatal crash involving a drugged driver.
Lisa Bergman had consumed a variety of prescription medications, methamphetamine and alcohol when the pickup she was driving crossed the center line of Lapeer Road and collided head-first with a pickup carrying Russell Ward and Koby Raymo on July 20, 2013. They both were killed.
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Prosecution showed during her trial Bergman had been involved in seven other driving incidents in which it was believed she was under the influence of prescription medicines and other substances.
Wendling said it is unknown if a saliva test during one of the prior stops could have kept her off the road.
"We all know what a danger drunk driving is; drugged driving is equally as dangerous and it's just harder to detect," he said. "This will give officers a better way to detect while still protecting people's rights."
Wendling said the roadside test result will not be admissible in court, much like a preliminary breath test. He said search warrants could be sought for blood draws for admissible evidence.
The test will give officers the ability to determine why a driver is driving recklessly, and if it shows negative, could indicate someone is in need of medical help.
Wendling said he doesn't believe there are any questions about the validity or reliability of the test, which has been used by probation and parole departments for a number of years.
"It may not be admissible to a jury or a judge, but it's certainly an effective tool for an officer to know if they should be driving or not," he said.
St. Clair County Sheriff Tim Donnellon said he has a few deputies trained as DREs.
Drugged driving has had a "tremendous uptick in the opioid epidemic as well as the continual rise of the THC," he said.
In 2016, there were 2,667 drug-involved crashes in Michigan, according to MSP. That was a 20 percent increase from 2015. St. Clair County reported 53 drug-involved crashes in 2016, including one fatality, according to the MSP statistics.
Flegel said DREs in the five counties will go through training Monday and Tuesday on using the devices.
If the program is deemed successful, Flegel said the department will send a report to the Legislature and look to branching into more counties.
"Unfortunately with the opioid epidemic and medical marijuana, we've seen a huge influx in driver fatalities when operating under the influence of drugs," he said.
Flegel said he expects the pilot program to be closely watched.
"It's going to be one of the first in the country to do this," he said. "There are going to be many other states and agencies looking to us and toward our results as to how it is conducted."
Michigan law enforcement agencies will be using Abbott’s Alere DDS Mobile Forensic Test System.
“Abbott is pleased to provide the Michigan State Police with a testing instrument that can be used at the roadside. Our handheld instrument empowers officers to make informed decisions that will positively impact public safety,” Scott Taillie, vice president of toxicology at Abbott, said in a statement.
Poster Comment:
Book ‘em, Dano.
Get those pot smoking heatherns off the highways and MRSR (Make Roads Safe Again).
