A motorist is looking at a two-year mandatory road ban after being clocked at 84kmh over the speed limit while apparently on cocaine.
The driver, in a high-powered Mercedes, was detected doing 184km/hr in a 100km/hr zone on the N21 on Saturday evening.
He flashed past an unmarked patrol car from the Kerry Road Policing Unit.
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The car was pulled over and gardai talked to the driver. He was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and also tested positive for cocaine at the nearest Garda Station.
A blood specimen was obtained for analysis which could confirm the on-the-spot test, Cork Beo reports.
Should the driver be convicted for dangerous driving and driving while under the influence of a narcotic, they will be hit with a 2-year mandatory driving disqualification.
Since December, gardai in Cork and across Ireland have been using new Covid-19 style rapid test kits to give almost instant results in cases where they suspect motorists may be under the influence of narcotics.
The new Securetec Drugwipe 6s is a rapid wide-range test, very similar to the Covid-19 antigen test. It can take just 5 minutes to detect a wide range of drugs such as Cannabis, Cocaine, Benzodiazepines and Opiates, as well as Amphetamine and Methamphetamine.
The new roadside rapid tests are being used as Gardai and Road Safety chiefs fear there has been a spike in the number of Irish motorists taking risks with narcotics.
Road Safety Authority research from 2013 - 2017 shows that 29% of drivers killed had a positive toxicology for drugs. Over 2,550 drivers have been arrested to date in 2022 on suspicion of drug driving. That’s an average of 54 drivers arrested each week this year for driving under the influence of drugs.
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