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Alcohol/Drugs

BREATHALYSER USE ENFORCED AS OF TODAY

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The breathalyser used by Police in the RPT test. Photo credit: SIBC.
The breathalyser used by Police in the RPT test. Photo credit: SIBC.

The legislation for ‘alcohol testing’ using breathalysers has been gazetted and enforced from today’s date, June 1st.

A statement from the Police Media reports, the Police and Transport Legislation Act 2016 gives police the power to order drivers or person in charge of a vehicle to submit to a breath test.

Police officers now have the power to conduct alcohol testing on the person driving or in charge of the vehicle, a person who is in the driver’s seat and attempting to put a vehicle in motion, or a person whom the officer has reasonable cause to suspect was within the previous hour driving or in charge of a vehicle and was driving or in charge of the vehicle at the time it was involved in an accident.

Alcohol is a leading factor in the number of crashes where people die or are seriously injured in the country.

The statement said the legislation will greatly enhance the ability of the RSIPF to remove intoxicated drivers from roads, further ensuring the safety of all road users.

The Act prescribes the level of alcohol as 0.05 grams or more of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, often referred to as the Blood Alcohol Content.

It says a driver or operator of a vehicle who is at this level or higher has committed an offence.

A breath test to determine the Blood Alcohol Concentration of a driver is performed by a police officer both at the roadside, called a ‘Preliminary Breath Test’, and at a police station, called an ‘Evidentiary Breath Test’.

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