Lawmakers OK Bills To Target Drugged Driving
LANSING (WWJ/AP) - The Michigan Legislature has given final approval to bills designed to give police more tools to arrest drivers under the influence of drugs, and ensure immediate jail time for repeat offenders.
The legislation sent to Gov. Rick Snyder Thursday would allow a preliminary roadside analysis not just for suspected alcohol use but also for controlled and other intoxicating substances. The bills also put a conditional bond on suspected drugged drivers and require that the information be entered into a law enforcement database.
Republican Rep. Dan Lauwers, of Brockway Township, said drugged and drunken drivers should be treated the same under the law "because they have the same capacity to harm innocent lives."
"The measures give police officers the tools necessary to know whether a driver has had any previous arrests for drugged driving, and get them off the streets," Lauwers said in a statement. "All Michigan motorists are better protected from drugged drivers under these landmark reforms."
The legislation was introduced after 19-year-old Russell Ward and 20-year-old Koby Raymo were killed in a head-on collision in St. Clair Count in July 2013 when a pickup driven by Lisa Bergman crossed the center line. Bergman, whose blood later tested positive for controlled substances, had been pulled over six times since 2008 for operating under the influence of drugs, and at the time of the accident she had two pending cases.
St. Clair County Sheriff's Deputy Nicholas Singleton said in his testimony that Bergman "was one of the most impaired people I have ever seen operating a vehicle."
Police officers who had previously stopped Bergman didn't realize she had multiple offenses because the citations were not in the LEIN system. She's currently serving a 25-50 year sentence in the case.
"The legislation also serves as a preventative warning for motorists who may think they can get away with driving while high on drugs," Lauwers said. "By closing this loophole in state law, we put these types of reprehensible drivers on notice that their behavior will no longer be tolerated in Michigan."
Lawmakers earlier this year removed a provision in the bulls proposing a roadside saliva test for controlled substances. Critics say that could lead to arrests of medical marijuana patients.
Michigan had the 12th highest rate of drugged drivers in the country from 2006-2009, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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