The Press FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1957. Blood Tests For Drivers

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28267, 3 May 1957, Page 8

The Press FRIDAY, MAY 3, 1957. Blood Tests For Drivers

In an address to the Dunedin Road Safety Council, Dr. E. F. D’Ath, professor of pathology at the Otago Medical School, reemphasised the good reasons for testing the blood of persons arrested on charges of drunken driving. Dr. D’Ath’s opinion that if compulsory blood-testing of such persons were introduced in New Zealand the accident rate would be reduced “ almost “ overnight ” is entitled to be heard with respect; but that is, after all, a matter of opinion. When Dr. D’Ath said that analysis of the blood infallibly determined the minimum amount of liquor a person had consumed, he stated a plain fact; and merely to state it poses once again the question whether this country can afford to neglect such an important source of evidence bearing on a class of case which causes the courts, the forces of law enforcement, and the general public a great deal of anxious concern. Many other countries value it; and for a very good reason: while a blood analysis showing a certain alcohol content is not conclusive evidence on which to convict a person accused of drunkenness, but must always be considered with other evidence bearing on the accused’s behaviour, an analysis showing no alcohol or little alcohol almost automatically secures an acquittal. It is, therefore, more decisive in protecting the innocent than in convicting the guilty; and it is especially useful in accident cases, in which the effects of shock may easily be mistaken for the symptoms of drunkenness. It is not easy to understand why a practice widely accepted in other enlightened countries, including the Scandinavian, should be regarded with so much suspicion here; and surely Dr. D’Ath overestimated the strength of this objection to it when he said that “ he could not for a minute “ imagine the people of New “ Zealand standing for compul- “ sory blood tests ”. Probably the objection to it, notably by the motorists’ organisations, comes from the common mistake of regarding the blood test as a conclusive measure of

a person’s sobriety. It is nothing of the sort. Some persons can “ hold their liquor ” better than others. It is not a crime to drink; and it is not a crime to drink and drive, so long as the driver’s ability to drive is not impaired; and that would still have to be determined by the courts on much the same evidence as they now have to rely upon. But the blood test would often clear away much conflict of evidence. As Dr. D’Ath said, th? blood analysis is a useful gauge of the truthfulness of persons under suspicion; the courts would have before them evidence which would authoritatively confirm or deny the customary story of “ two pony beers ”. Last year in “ The Press ”, the writer of some special articles on road accidents contradicted a belief that the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association had condemned the blood test as unreliable. It did not. It reported to the Road Safety Council that the blood tests may be “ desirable and “ useful ” if carried out under strict safeguards, which are, of course, implicit in all scientific techniques. It did oppose compulsory tests, and also urine tests. It saw great difficulties because, in present conditions, blood samples could be taken only by medical men and “ virtually insurmountable ” difficulties in the expeditious transport of specimens to and their examination by official analysts. On this report the Road Safety Council advised the Minister of Transport that it did not recommend that blood or urine tests should be introduced. But the body charged with promoting road safety in New Zealand should not be content to dismiss because of difficulties measures that other countries regard as valuable aids to road safety. The Road Safety Council should always be ready to look at such measures, always ready to revive its interest and always ready to heed authoritative opinion. A reduction in the accident rate “ almost over- “ night ” would amply repay the effort to overcome difficulties which have not proved insurmountable in other countries.