High rate of drivers failing roadside tests

A total of 105 drivers in Cavan-Monaghan have failed roadside breath tests, one of the highest returns per number of breath tests conducted in the country, new figures reveal.
The unenviable record is derived from provisional new Department of Justice statistics that account for a period from mid-April last year to October 12, 2018.
Cavan has the fourth most fails per stops in the country, just behind neighbouring counties Westmeath, Meath and Kilkenny-Carlow, the latter of which has the highest rate.
Meath had 87 roadside test fails out of 9559 tests conducted, while Westmeath had 82 out of 9,692.
Kilkenny-Carlow had a rate of more than one fail in ten (108) per the 9,561 roadside tests conducted in the region.
A total of 3,202 mandatory intoxicant testing (MIT) checkpoints were conducted by local members of An Garda Síochána over the same for past near year and a half period.
According to the same set of figures, almost one in four drivers in Cavan-Monaghan tested positive after providing a roadside oral fluid sample for the presence of cannabis, cocaine, opiates, heroin, morphine and benzodiazepines, such as Valium.
Of the 12,510 roadside tests conducted, just three failed or refused to provide a breath sample, an offence in itself which carries its own set of penalties.
No drivers refused to provide an oral fluid sample.
Section 10 of the Road Traffic Act 2010 provides for MIT checkpoints. The powers of An Garda Síochána under the 2010 Act were extended under the Road Traffic Act 2016 to allow preliminary oral fluid-testing for drugs to be undertaken at these checkpoints, in additional to the current preliminary breath testing for alcohol. These provisions came into force from April 13, 2017.
By comparison in other neighbouring garda districts, in Sligo-Leitrim a total of 31 out of 8196 roadside breath tests conducted were positive for alcohol; while nine out of 59 drivers tested positive for the presence of drugs.
In Roscommon-Longford, 87 out of 16,203 roadside tests conducted returned positive for alcohol. Ten out of 42 tested positive for drugs.
In Meath, the number of drug fails was four out of 17, and in Westmeath the figure was five out of 14 oral fluid samples tested.
The Department is currently analysing the contents and recommendations arising from the recently published 'Future of Policing in Ireland' report, with consultations with An Garda Síochána set to get underway to inform what direction is taken.
It’s expected the high-level implementation of any future plan and project structure will be brought to Government before the end of this year.