LANSING, MI -- Bills signed today by Gov. Rick Snyder instruct police to create a pilot program in five Michigan counties for roadside drug testing.

Senate Bills 207 and 434, sponsored by state Sens. Rick Jones and Tom Casperson, respectively, create a one-year pilot program that will allow law enforcement officers trained as Drug Recognition Experts (DREs) to administer a saliva test to drivers suspected of being under the influence of drugs like heroin, marijuana and cocaine.

Gov. Rick Snyder

The saliva test would be in addition to the drug recognition 12-step evaluation currently used by DREs, Gov. Snyder said in a news release upon signing the bills Friday, June 24.

"The five-county pilot program will be used to help determine accuracy and reliability of the tests," the Governor's statement reads.

The "Barbara J. and Thomas J. Swift Law," is named after the couple killed in a March 20, 2013, crash in Escanaba, when a tractor-trailer ran a red light and careened into their Chevrolet Malibu.

Tractor-trailer driver Harley Davidson Durocher was convicted of charges including operating while intoxicated causing death, and sentenced to a minimum of five years and five months in prison for the crash. Durocher's blood was draw at a hospital following the crash showed THC, an ingredient of marijuana, leading to the charges.

After the crash, Brian Swift, the couple's son, said he contacted Casperson to try to make a better way to catch drugged drivers.

Casperson, whose district covers much of the Upper Peninsula, has said the legislation's intent is to allow the state to come up with "a reasonable standard" for drug testing, like it has in place for drunk driving.

The bills are now Public Acts 242 and 243.

Under the pilot program, an officer certified as a drug recognition expert armed with a swab-based drug detection kit could be called to a traffic stop to administer the roadside test. The legislation instructs the Michigan State Police to select five counties in which to implement the pilot program.

According to the Office of Highway Safety Planning, as of February, Michigan had 99 Certified Drug Recognition Experts in 37 counties.

-- Brad Devereaux is a reporter for MLive.com. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.