Railway Safety Act 2005

Sampling for drugs.

89.—(1) An authorised person may require a safety critical worker to provide a sample of blood or urine, in accordance with the sampling procedures of the railway undertaking concerned—

(a) where he or she is of the opinion, or on the request of an inspector who is of the opinion, that a safety critical worker, who is performing a safety critical task or who has made himself or herself available to perform a safety critical task by attending at work, has a drug in his or her body to such an extent that he or she is in breach of his or her duty under section 87 (1),

(b) where a railway incident occurs and he or she is of the opinion, or on the request of an inspector who is of the opinion, that—

(i) the safety critical worker concerned was performing or had performed a safety critical task on the railway infrastructure, or on the train, involved with the incident, or

(ii) the safety critical worker concerned failed to perform a safety critical task expected of him or her, on the railway infrastructure, or on a train, involved with the incident,

or

(c) for the safe operation of the undertaking, at random and in circumstances that are reasonable, where that worker is performing a safety critical task or has made himself or herself available to perform a safety critical task by attending at work.

(2) Only a medical practitioner may take a specimen of blood or be provided with a specimen of urine.

(3) It is the duty of a safety critical worker if a requirement to provide a sample is made of him or her under subsection (1), unless he or she has reasonable excuse, to provide the sample.

(4) While a safety critical worker is at a hospital as a patient, he or she shall not be required to provide a sample unless the medical practitioner in immediate charge of his or her case has been notified by an authorised person of the proposal to make the requirement and—

(a) if the requirement is then made, it shall be for the provision of a sample at the hospital, but

(b) if the medical practitioner objects, on the ground that the requirement would be prejudicial to the proper care and treatment of the patient, the requirement shall not be made.

(5) A sample provided to an authorised person under this section shall be sent by him or her to an analysis body for the purposes of analysing the sample for drugs and the analysis body shall issue a certificate to the authorised person in relation to the results of the analysis.

(6) An analysis body may charge the railway undertaking concerned a fee in respect of any analysis made and certificate issued by it under subsection (5).

(7) The results of any analysis under subsection (5) in respect of a sample taken under this section shall, at the request of the Investigation Unit, be given to it by the railway undertaking for whom it was made for the purposes of an investigation by the Unit under section 58 .