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Pure Michigan
LANSING, MI — The Michigan State Police is working on plans to establish a pilot program for roadside drug testing, a spokeswoman said.
A new law instructs the state police to pick five counties where it will run a one-year pilot program for saliva-based testing to check drivers for drugs like marijuana, heroin and cocaine.
"We expect the counties to be finalized this summer with a pilot to begin sometime later in the year," MSP spokeswoman Shanon Banner said.
The five counties will be determined based on criteria including: the number of impaired driving crashes;the number of impaired drivers arrested; and the number of Drug Recognition Experts (DREs) trained in the county, she said.
The "Barbara J. and Thomas J. Swift Law," is named after the couple killed in a March 20, 2013, crash in Escanaba, when a tractor-trailer ran a red light and careened into their Chevrolet Malibu.
Tractor-trailer driver
Harley Davidson Durocher was convicted of charges including operating while intoxicated causing death, and sentenced to a minimum of five years and five months in prison for the crash. Durocher's blood was drawn at a hospital following the crash and showed THC, an ingredient of marijuana, leading to the charges.
After the crash, Brian Swift, the couple's son, said he contacted Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, to help create a better way to charge drugged drivers.
"The five-county pilot program will be used to help determine accuracy and reliability of the tests," Gov. Rick Snyder said after he signed the bill in June.
LANSING, MI — The Michigan State Police is working on plans to establish a pilot program for roadside drug testing, a spokeswoman said.
A new law instructs the state police to pick five counties where it will run a one-year pilot program for saliva-based testing to check drivers for drugs like marijuana, heroin and cocaine.
"We expect the counties to be finalized this summer with a pilot to begin sometime later in the year," MSP spokeswoman Shanon Banner said.
The five counties will be determined based on criteria including: the number of impaired driving crashes;the number of impaired drivers arrested; and the number of Drug Recognition Experts (DREs) trained in the county, she said.
The "Barbara J. and Thomas J. Swift Law," is named after the couple killed in a March 20, 2013, crash in Escanaba, when a tractor-trailer ran a red light and careened into their Chevrolet Malibu.
Tractor-trailer driver
Harley Davidson Durocher was convicted of charges including operating while intoxicated causing death, and sentenced to a minimum of five years and five months in prison for the crash. Durocher's blood was drawn at a hospital following the crash and showed THC, an ingredient of marijuana, leading to the charges.After the crash, Brian Swift, the couple's son, said he contacted Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, to help create a better way to charge drugged drivers.
"The five-county pilot program will be used to help determine accuracy and reliability of the tests," Gov. Rick Snyder said after he signed the bill in June.
