RTA: DUI Drugs
Under the Road Traffic Act of 1988 it is an offence for any person to drive or to be in charge of a motor vehicle whilst impaired through drugs or alcohol. From the 2nd March 2015 there will be a specified limit for the concentration of a number of controlled/abused drugs in blood. With drugs that are not covered by the aforementioned RTA Act there will be no specified limits for their concentration (illicit or prescribed) in a person's blood; there are no specified limits for any drug in the urine.
Where there is no specified limit for the presence of a drug in the blood, if someone is charged with driving whilst under the influence of drugs then any toxicology findings (i.e. the presence of a drug in the blood/urine) must be used in conjunction with the evidence of a medical examiner and any other witness as to the condition of the driver around the time of the incident for the case to be proven.
The presence of a drug in the blood/urine alone does not mean that the drug caused impairment; many factors are involved, such as the amount of drug in the blood/urine, the individual's tolerance to the drug, the amount of drug used, when the drug was last used etc.
