(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/24/2023) In 2013, Brian Smith's parents were killed in a car accident by a driver under the influence of a substance that is not detectable by any roadside test used in Michigan. This wasn't always the case. 

Michigan was the first state to conduct a pilot program for roadside oral drug testing in 2019, and again in 2021. Since then, 24 states have authorized oral fluid drug tests. Some states, including Alabama and Idaho, have implemented them in DUI cases permanently. 

On Wednesday morning, Smith was slated to testify on behalf of NASID before the Governor's Traffic Safety Commission to advocate for the oral fluid roadside tests to be permanently implemented by the Michigan State Police. 

According to Smith, now the spokesperson for the National Alliance to Stop Impaired Driving, or NASID, the issue of implementing them permanently isn't about a lack of resources. 

According to reports issued by the MSP in 2019 and 2021, the issue is that results from the Roadside Oral Fluid test are good for a preliminary check to see if someone may be driving under the influence. However, the results couldn't be used to convict someone in court because the test isn't as accurate as a blood test.

“It is important to point out that a Roadside Oral Fluid test result, regardless of whether positive or negative, does not determine if a driver is impaired or not impaired,” reads the MSP report from 2021.

The National Conference of State Legislature (NCSL) wrote in a report in 2020 that swabbing the inside of the cheek can establish probable cause, which could lead to the blood test.

Since they can be of some use, Smith said they should be used since many of them have allegedly been sitting in a warehouse for five years. 

“They bought the devices. They paid for them. They’re useless right now,” Smith said. “They sat for five years, and we need to get them back out onto the field and get them utilized to save people on Michigan highways.” 

Smith said that the program was relegated to the back burner in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that there was a “misunderstanding of the technology” that led to the program being halted at the pilot stage. 

“The technology is proven,” he said. “It’s only getting better.” 

The devices test for six substances: THC, amphetamine, benzodiazepines, cocaine, methamphetamine and opiates. Smith said if any of the substances produce a positive result, a blood test could be given a blood test to confirm if the substances are present in their system. 

“This is the best thing we have right now, and the technology that's proven that we can utilize it to save lives,” Smith said. “That's what I want to do, make sure that nobody gets the call that I got.”