PART IIPrincipal Road Safety Provisions
Motor vehicles: drink and drugs
Provision of specimens for analysis18
1
In the course of an investigation into whether a person has committed an offence under Article 14, 15 or 16 a constable may, subject to the following provisions of this Article and Article 20, require him—
a
to provide 2 specimens of breath for analysis by means of a device of a type approved by the Head of the Department, or
b
to provide a specimen of blood or urine for a laboratory test.
2
A requirement under paragraph (1)(a) may be made to provide the specimens of breath—
a
at or in the vicinity of the place where the requirement is made if facilities for the specimens to be taken are available and it is practicable to take them there, or
b
at a police station.
3
A requirement under paragraph (1)(a) may be made only by a constable who is especially authorised by the Chief Constable to make such requirements.
4
A requirement under paragraph (1)(b) to provide a specimen of blood or urine can only be made at a police station or at a hospital; and it cannot be made at a police station unless—
a
the constable making the requirement has reasonable cause to believe that a specimen of breath cannot be provided or should not be required, or
b
at the time the requirement is made a device or a reliable device of the type mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) is not available at the police station or it is then for any other reason not practicable to use such a device there, or
F1bb
a device of the type mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) has been used in the circumstances described in paragraph (2) but the constable who required the specimens of breath has reasonable cause to believe that the device has not produced a reliable indication of the proportion of alcohol in the breath of the person concerned, or
c
the suspected offence is one under Article 14 or 15 and the constable making the requirement has been advised by a medical practitioner that the condition of the person required to provide the specimen might be due to some drug,
but may then be made notwithstanding that the person required to provide the specimen has already provided or been required to provide 2 specimens of breath.
5
If the provision of a specimen other than a specimen of breath may be required in pursuance of this Article the question whether it is to be a specimen of blood or a specimen of urineF2 and, in the case of a specimen of blood, the question who is to be asked to take it shall be decided (subject to paragraph (5A)) by the constable making the requirement.
F25A
Where a constable decides for the purposes of paragraph (5) to require the provision of a specimen of blood, there shall be no requirement to provide such a specimen if—
a
the medical practitioner who is asked to take the specimen is of the opinion that, for medical reasons, it cannot or should not be taken; or
b
the registered health care professional who is asked to take it is of that opinion and there is no contrary opinion from a medical practitioner;
and, where by virtue of this paragraph there can be no requirement to provide a specimen of blood, the constable may require a specimen of urine instead.
6
A specimen or urine shall be provided within one hour of the requirement for its provision being made and after the provision of a previous specimen of urine.
7
A person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to provide a specimen when required to do so in pursuance of this Article is guilty of an offence.
8
A constable must, on requiring any person to provide a specimen in pursuance of this Article, warn him that a failure to provide it may render him liable to prosecution.
9
For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a) a device shall be treated as of a type approved by the Head of the Department where a statement that the Head of the Department has approved a device of that type is included in the Belfast Gazette.