We analyze three-dimensional ion drift data from the Saint-Santin incoherent scatter facility to test experimentally the theoretical description of ion transport in the ionospheric dynamo layer, and to deduce electric fields and ion neutral collision frequencies from the observed drifts. Using a geometrical representation of the ion momentum equation, we show that at middle latitudes, because horizontal neutral wind influences ion motions both parallel and orthogonal to the field lines in the ionospheric dynamo layer, the information contained in a three-dimensional ion drift measurement is redundant, thus permitting to check the standard theoretical description of ionospheric electrodynamics in two ways. First, assuming a model ion-neutral collision frequency profile, one can deduce the north-south perpendicular component of the electric field function of height in the E region from Saint-Santin drift data. We find that its altitude variations remain within the experimental uncertainty of the method, in agreement with the theoretical assumption of equipotential field lines. Second, assuming that the electric field is constant in altitude, one can determine the ion collision ratio, or ratio of the ion collision frequency to the ion gyrofrequency, from a comparison of E and F region drift measurements. Daily median values of the ion collision frequencies, thus obtained for each of the three seasons, are found to compare reasonably well with ion collision frequencies derived from the Jacchia neutral atmosphere model for the case of the equinox sample, but determinations for the other seasons are contaminated by a high level of measurement noise.