Michigan’s Roadside Drug Testing Law
NHTSA ROADSIDE SURVEY-RELEASED FEBRUARY 6, 2015
• Alcohol use has declined dramatically. Only 1.5% of weekend nighttime drivers had BACs at or above .08.
• However, 22.5% tested positive for drugs, an increase from 16.3% in 2007. 12.6% were positive for marijuana, compared to 8.6% in 2007.
February 2007
Michigan – 2014 • 876 Crash Fatalities
• 386 Alcohol and/or drug related fatalities (44%)
February 2007
Michigan – 2015 • 963 Crash Fatalities
• 482 Alcohol and/or drug related fatalities (50%)
MSP Laboratory- 3/2013 - 4/2014
Drugs % of Cases
• THC 56 • Alprazolam 38 • Hydrocodone 29 • Morphine 20 • Nordiazepam 16 • Diazepam 14 • Codeine 13 • Soma 13 • Amphetamine 12 • Clonazepam 9 • Oxycodone 8 • Methadone 8 • Tramadol 7 • Cocaine 3 • Fentanyl 2
CHALLENGES: PERCEPTION OF RISK
• Some people think that: • Drugged driving is not a serious problem.
• Drug use does not adversely affect driving and may improve it.
• There are no laws prohibiting drugged driving (i.e., it is not illegal).
• The likelihood of detection and apprehension for drugged driving is low.
DRIVER WHO KILLED 5 BICYCLISTS HAD TAKEN PAIN PILLS
• A man accused of killing five people when he plowed his speeding pickup truck into a group of Michigan bicyclists had taken pain pills and muscle relaxers less than two hours earlier, according to police reports.
• Charles Pickett Jr., 50, was initially charged with second-degree murder in the June 7 crash in Kalamazoo County. Charges of driving while intoxicated causing death were added later.
• His girlfriend told investigators he took 16 to 20 muscle relaxers about an hour and a half before the crash, then took 10 painkillers. According to the report, Pickett told her: "I've taken this much before," and: "I'd be better off dead."
Teen pleads guilty in tow truck driver’s death
• Defendant pled guilty in the death in the death of Preferred Towing’s Jason Schultz.
• “By having THC in your body by the operation of that vehicle did cause the death of Jason Schultz, how do you plead?” Judge asked. “Guilty,” defendant said.
• Defendant was southbound when he swerved to the right onto the shoulder to avoid the tow truck, striking Schultz, the tow cable and stuck vehicle.
• Schultz is survived by his widow and three children younger than 10.
Court Upholds Murder Conviction In Drugged Driving Case
• Back in 2013, Lisa Bergman was driving a Ford F-350 pickup truck in St. Clair County when she crossed the center line and crashed into a smaller pickup, killing 19-year-old Russell Ward and 20-year-old Koby Raymo.
• St. Clair County Sheriff’s Deputy Nicholas Singleton said in his testimony that Bergman “was one of the most impaired people I have ever seen operating a vehicle.”
• Bergman’s blood-alcohol level was below the legal limit, but she had also used prescription drugs OxyContin and Soma.
SWIFT FAMILY TRAGEDY • The suspect in a deadly car crash has been found guilty on six
counts after a two day trial. • The defendant was found guilty on two counts of driving with a
suspended or revoked license causing death, two counts of reckless driving causing death, and two counts of operating with the presence of THC in his system causing death.
• The defendant struck a vehicle driven by 73–year–old Thomas Swift of Escanaba, who died at the scene. His wife, 73–year–old Barbara Swift, died several days later from injuries she sustained.
INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION • After the crash, Brian Swift, the couple's son, said he contacted State
Senator Thomas Casperson to try to make a better way to catch drugged drivers. Casperson introduced legislation.
• Swift testified the legislation is aimed at “stopping people who get behind the wheel of a vehicle and choose to put others lives at risk.”
• “We want to make sure other families do not have to live with the nightmare we live with,” he testified at a House Judiciary Committee meeting early this year.
• State Senator Rick Jones, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, touted the hand-held device to check for drugs — much like a breathalyzer test for alcohol — as another tool for officers.
“Barbara J. and Thomas J. Swift” Law • Public Act 243, effective, September 22, 2016, the law authorizes the
Michigan Department of State Police (MSP), to establish a one-year pilot program in five counties for roadside drug testing.
• Requires the MSP to develop a written policy for the implementation of the pilot program and the administration of roadside drug testing.
• Allows the MSP to promulgate rules to implement the pilot program. • Requires the MSP to report on the pilot program to certain
committees of the Legislature within 90 days after the pilot program concludes.
• Allows the MSP, subject to appropriation, to establish additional pilot programs in other counties for up to one year.
PUBLIC ACT 242, EFFECTIVE 9/22/16 • Effective, September 22, 2016, the law authorizes a peace officer who is
certified as a drug recognition expert in a county participating in the pilot program authorized under Public Act 243 to require a person to submit to a preliminary oral fluid analysis under certain conditions.
• Authorizes an officer to arrest a person based on the results of a preliminary oral fluid analysis; and to make those results admissible in a criminal prosecution for limited purposes and/or administrative hearing.
• Requires an officer to use the results of an oral fluid analysis to determine whether to order a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) driver out of service, and requires an officer to order out of service a CMV driver who refuses to submit to a preliminary oral fluid analysis.
• Provides that a person who refuses to submit to a preliminary oral analysis is responsible for a civil infraction.
• Committee comprised of subject matter experts to assist in making the pilot program successful. Members are from the following areas: • Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan • Traffic Services Section • Alcohol Enforcement Unit • Impaired Driving Unit • DRE Coordinator from OHSP • Forensic Science Division • Legislative Liaison Unit • Legal Resources Section
COMMITTEE AND MEMBERS
COUNTIES SELECTED • The counties for the Oral Fluid Roadside Analysis will be
selected on the following criteria: • Number of serious injury and fatal impaired driving
crashes • Number of impaired driving arrests • Number of DREs in the county • Number of DRE prosecutors in the county and their
knowledge of the program • Geographic diversity around the State of Michigan
FIVE COUNTIES WILL BE SELECTED
CONTACT WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES AND DRES
• All law enforcement agencies will be represented in this pilot program: State, Local, Township and County Law Enforcement
• Several Law Enforcement agencies will be participating • Only DREs will be conducting the Oral Fluid Roadside
Analysis Pilot program • Contact will be made with both the DREs and the
administrators of the law enforcement agencies
• The Pilot Program Committee researched several vendors of Oral Fluid Roadside Analysis Testing instruments.
• Manufacturers of the instruments were given an opportunity to give a presentation and demonstration of their product to the committee members
• Seven different oral fluid testing manufacturers gave presentations and were evaluated by committee members
SELECTION OF ORAL FLUID TEST INSTRUMENT
• All products had positive and negative aspects • Decision will be difficult due to the amount of very
capable products • The Committee members came up with specifications
that will meet the needs of the pilot program
SELECTION OF ORAL FLUID TEST INSTRUMENT
• Compact and portable • Easy to use • Results within five minutes • Easy to read positive or negative results • Can store up to 10,000 tests and comes with a
printer
TEST INSTRUMENT
• At a minimum, the test instrument needs to tests for the following:
• Amphetamines • Benzodiazepines • Cannabis (THC) • Cocaine Metabolite • Methamphetamine • Opiates
TEST INSTRUMENT
• MSP is responsible for developing policies and procedures for the Oral Fluid Roadside Analysis Pilot program.
• May promulgate Administrative Rules for the pilot program if necessary.
• Process could take several weeks to go through the approval process to take affect
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
• When the DRE completes the Oral Fluid Roadside Analysis, two saliva samples will be taken. One for the test instrument, the other for an independent lab for confirmation testing.
• This testing will rule out any false positive or false negative results.
• This will ensure and demonstrate the reliability and accuracy of the test instrument.
INDEPENDENT LAB
• The committee came up with a timeline of events to ensure the pilot program stays on track and items are completed in a timely manner.
• Timeline is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely)
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
• After the one year Oral Fluid Roadside Analysis Pilot program is completed, the Committee has 90 days to report findings:
• How the participating counties were selected • The different law enforcement agencies that
participated in the Pilot program • The number and type of convictions resulting from the
Oral Fluid Roadside Analysis Pilot program
REPORTING ON THE ORAL FLUID ROADSIDE ANALYSIS PILOT
• On-site screening • Easy rapid collection • Immediate result • Non-invasive, observed • Investigative tool • Probable cause tool • Forensic laboratory confirmation
WHY ORAL FLUID?
• Michigan is making great strides toward the Oral Fluid Roadside Analysis Pilot Program, but it still has a long way to go.
• With the ever increasing impaired drivers and States legalizing marijuana, it’s a great time for the Pilot program
• The Michigan State Police and members of the Committee are very proud of the accomplishments thus far with the Oral Fluid Pilot program.
• We look forward to assisting other Law Enforcement agencies with impaired driving initiatives.
CONCLUSION
• “We have worked hard over the past year to turn the horror of losing our mom and dad into saving others.”
• “Our pain never goes away, but we know my parents would want to help others and we think it is worth the fight.”
QUOTES FROM BRIAN SWIFT