Can any solicitors here advise re driving under the influence of spamspamspam?

C

Caveat

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Firstly - I'm not encouraging or condoning this in any way - just curious.

Apparently, the test for spamspamspam can only determine whether or not it is in your system - the 'positive' could be as a result of the 2 joints you smoked just before you got into the car, or the 1 joint you shared with your partner 2 days previously.

Unlike drug policies say at work (see current thread) where you are not allowed to test positive, my understanding of the traffic offense was that it is illegal to be driving 'under the influence'...

If the spamspamspam test cannot confirm whether or not you are under the influence....?!

What am I missing?
 
Re: Driving under the influence of spamspamspam

I think it's a handy way for the authorities to say they are tackling the 'scourge' of spamspamspam....while I have only been stopped once in 13 years of driving, for a breathalyser test !
 
Re: Driving under the influence of spamspamspam

i would imagine that you are classed as under the influence if it is found in your system due to the fact it is illegal.
 
Re: Driving under the influence of spamspamspam

But would that not be applying a different aspect of the law?

Like saying 'I'm arresting you for speeding because you have an illegally modified car' for example?

...and what if you did your smoking in Amsterdam?
 
Re: Driving under the influence of spamspamspam

Whenever I've been stoned, I wouldn't even be able to get into a car, never mind drive one!
I got a bus once and had to get off early.

spamspamspam is fat soluble, so you'd have to wait about month before you could drive.
 
Re: Driving under the influence of spamspamspam

leghorn said:
Whenever I've been stoned, I wouldn't even be able to get into a car, never mind drive one!
I got a bus once and had to get off early.

spamspamspam is fat soluble, so you'd have to wait about month before you could drive.
Click to expand...


You're missing the point. It might be detected in your system but you will not be under the influence of spamspamspam for a month. Or a week. Or any more than a day (possibly even less).

If it's presence is not impairing your driving ability and more importantly, cannot be shown to be at a level that it may impair your driving ability (not by the gardaí or anyone else) how can you be accused of 'driving under the influence?'
 
Re: Driving under the influence of spamspamspam

Similar inconsistencies arise in relation to tests for alcohol - the level of alcohol in the breath is assessed, even though it doesn't necessarily correlate to drunkenness. A small swig of mouthwash taken seconds before a breath test will produce a very high alcohol reading even if the subject is still stone cold sober.
 
I wonder has anyone been successfully prosecuted (except when maybe smoking while driving) for driving under the influence of spamspamspam?
 
Caveat said:
I wonder has anyone been successfully prosecuted (except when maybe smoking while driving) for driving under the influence of spamspamspam?
Click to expand...

Drug drivers go undetected due to lack of roadside tests: News 21 Feb 2008 Just 218 drivers tested positive for drug driving last year due to the absence of a system which will definitively prove the presence of drugs at the roadside. The Road Safety Authority (RSA) said that the absence of one conclusive roadside test was to blame for a failure to undertake rigorous drugs testing, even when the extent of the problem is widely acknowledged.
Source: Irish Independent
 
Thanks Gebbel.

If you read the whole article, interesting to see that the emphasis is on impairment not merely the detectable presence of any drug.

I guess what is needed is a clear definition of the offence of 'drug driving' (under the influence - or what exactly?) and how, particularly in the case of spamspamspam, can it be then shown/proven that this law has been broken.

I wonder though did those 218 involve other offences like speeding or general dangerous driving - I'm guessing they did. Note it says 'tested positive' it didn't say that they were prosecuted for this.
 
I have been driving for 20 years and up to November 2007 had only been stopped once. In december I had to blow into the bag 3 times because they said that they could smell drink. I told them that they must have a great sense of smell because the last time I had a drink was 1986 (true).
 
Rightly dun said:
I have been driving for 20 years and up to November 2007 had only been stopped once. In december I had to blow into the bag 3 times because they said that they could smell drink. I told them that they must have a great sense of smell because the last time I had a drink was 1986 (true).
Click to expand...

LOL It's a wonder the Guard didn't haul you out of the car 'for being smart' with him :)
 
Pique318 said:
LOL It's a wonder the Guard didn't haul you out of the car 'for being smart' with him :)
Click to expand...

True! An American guy I know has a court date in a few weeks for giving a Garda guff for much the same reason. The Garda said he can take his gripe up with the judge. They aren't in good form these days, so it's best not to antagonise them.
 
See [broken link removed]

Dad on spamspamspam reversed off motorway in rush hour
By Andrew Phelan

Thursday April 09 2009
A PARTYGOER was still under the influence of spamspamspam when gardai caught him driving carelessly through rush-hour traffic the following morning.
Mechanic David Shannon (25) was arrested after gardai found him reversing from the M1 motorway toward a roundabout in heavy morning traffic. He was arrested for careless driving and on suspicion of being under the influence of an intoxicant. He had no alcohol in his system, but tested positive for spamspamspam.
Judge Patrick Brady fined him €1,000 and put him off the road for four years after hearing he had already spent a week in custody over the incident.
Shannon, a father-of-one of Stuartstown, Co Tyrone, admitted the charge when he appeared at Swords District Court.
The arresting garda said in evidence he saw the accused reversing back up a slip road from the motorway towards the Donabate Roundabout on the morning of October 7 last year. Shannon was pulled in and as the gardai spoke to him, they noticed a strong smell of spamspamspam in the car.
He admitted he had been smoking the drug the previous evening. Shannon was taken to Santry Garda Station, where he was blood tested.
The court heard the accused had put up substantial bail. He had no previous convictions in either jurisdiction. His employer in Cookstown had indicated that his job was still available to him.
"He had been at a party the night before and consumed spamspamspam at that," his lawyer said. "It was a very foolish thing for him to do. It was an isolated incident and he has not smoked spamspamspam since."
aphelan@herald.ie
- Andrew Phelan
 
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