Get To Know The Procedure Behind Drug Driving

Get to know the procedure behind Drug Driving

Knowledge is power, and it’s important to understand the procedure that is behind being arrested for Drug Driving. In addition, it’s equally important to ensure you instruct the right lawyer to help if you are being charged for Drug Driving.

If a person is stopped by the police and either they suspect that the person’s driving was impaired through drugs or they failed a Roadside Drugs Swipe Test, they will be arrested and later requested to provide a sample of blood, that will be taken either at the police station or hospital. With consent, the sample is taken by a health care practitioner or doctor, who then splits the sample into two parts, with one part being offered to the person in question and the other part sent off to an accredited laboratory for analysis.

To maintain the reliability and integrity of the sample, the police must keep the sample in a safe, securely stored, packaged and then transported in an appropriate manner, as the breakdown rate for some drugs can be fast. 

Depending on several factors such as the availability of a health care practitioner or doctor, the sample is usually requested and taken within the first hour of arrest to ensure the results reflect the level of drugs in one’s body at the time of the alleged driving.

It can take anywhere from 4-8 weeks for the police to receive the results back from the laboratory, and if the levels exceed the specified amount permitted by law, the person in question can be charged with a section 5A RTA 1988 offence, Drug Driving. If you’re facing a Drug Driving charge and want to have the best possible outcome, you can trust in Simon at Collingham Chambers to provide you with a comprehensive analysis of the case against you.

Check out our previous article here.