Roadside drug testing pilot program off course

The results of Michigan’s yearlong, statewide pilot program to use oral test kits for roadside drug tests are in. While law enforcement say the tests are accurate for preliminary purposes, opponents argue the results prove the tests aren’t nearly as accurate as the “gold standard” of blood testing.

Nearly one in four positive Abbott SoToxa oral tests were later overturned by blood testing, according to a report the Michigan State Police presented to lawmakers in January.

Of the 934 positive tests for various substances recorded between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sept. 30, 2020, 222 were later overturned by blood tests, nearly 24%.

The report claims one reason for the disparity could be the length of time that elapsed between when a driver was tested orally at the roadside versus having blood drawn hours later.

“Oral fluid testing does not equal the ‘gold standard’ (blood testing) but has been found to be accurate for purposes of preliminary roadside testing,” the report concluded.

The tests especially had difficulties with opiates and benzodiazepine compounds. Out of the 75 positive tests for benzodiazepines, 45 were determined to be false positives. For opiates, 53 of the 82 positive tests were determined to be false.

“A positive or negative SoToxa test result by itself does not determine driver impairment,” the report says.

The SoToxa instrument merely provides an officer with additional information to consider during an investigation.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has long been opposed to roadside drug testing programs and attempts to use test methods other than blood or urine, citing concerns over accuracy and privacy.

OOIDA spoke out against the pilot program in 2016, writing in a letter to legislators that a false-positive would literally end the career of a professional driver. The results of the pilot program “shouldn’t be a surprise” to Michigan lawmakers, said OOIDA’s Mike Matousek.

“Our concerns – and the concerns of numerous others – were largely ignored as this effort was making its way through Lansing about five-six years ago,” said Matousek, OOIDA’s manager of government affairs. “I’d like to say they’ve learned something from it, but they probably haven’t.”

Pilot program’s origins

The program allows “drug recognition experts” to give roadside saliva tests to any drivers suspected of being under the influence of such drugs as marijuana, cocaine and heroin. The pilot program uses a mouth swab to obtain the saliva.

According to the Michigan State Police, a drug training expert “receives additional, highly specialized training to assist in identifying drivers under the influence of drugs other than, or in addition to, alcohol.”

Initially limited to just five counties, the pilot program went statewide in October 2019 with $626,000 in funding.

At the conclusion of the five-county pilot program, which took place from November 2017 until November 2018, the Michigan State Police recommended that the program expand to the entire state. The program led to 92 saliva roadside drug tests and 89 arrests.

While the program is geared toward all vehicles, it was inspired by a 2013 crash, when a truck driver ran a red light and struck a vehicle, resulting in the death of two people. The truck driver, Harley Davidson Durocher, was found guilty of six felonies, including two counts of operating a motor vehicle with the presence of a controlled substance (marijuana). LL