Roadside Drug Testing

1. According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, around 18 percent of people killed in road accidents have traces of illegal drugs in their blood – a six-fold increase since the mid 1980s .
2. According to the RAC the worst offenders for driving under the influence of drugs are those aged 25-34, with some nine percent of this group admitting to such activity. Meanwhile, a quarter of 17-24 year olds claim to have been in a car when they believed the driver to be under the influence of drugs.
3. When considering drug driving, the broader context of UK drug use is insightful. Based on findings from the latest British Crime Survey, around one in twenty people had used illicit drugs in the last month . With potentially more than 43 million drivers on UK roads, according to DVLA figures , it could be inferred that up to 200,000 drivers are also regular drug users.
4. While such evidence of drug driving is indicative of a real problem in the UK, there is a significant lack of any substantial data on its prevalence – particularly when compared to the statistical data available for drink driving. There is an urgent need for the UK to better understand how many drug users go on to drive while under the influence of drugs, and for more action to tackle the danger and improve road safety.
5. When it comes to testing for drug driving in the UK, findings from a YouGov poll commissioned by Concateno showed that: More than nine out of ten (92%) people agree with the statement that drug driving is as socially unacceptable as drink driving. 91% support drug testing at the roadside and would not object to being tested for drugs.

Currently, suspected drug driving is detected using a field impairment test.

The law in the UK states that:

• A person who, when driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle on a road or other public place, is unfit to drive through drink or drugs is guilty of an offence
• A person shall be taken to be unfit to drive if his ability to drive properly is for the time being impaired .

Although the offence is very clear, this question of impairment means it can be difficult for police to enforce. Currently the best available method of detecting drug use at the roadside is the Field Impairment Test (FIT), which relies on specially trained traffic officers observing an individual’s performance in physical and mental skills tests and other elements (eg pupil dilation).

Yet FIT tests are not currently used consistently as a matter of course by all UK police forces. The statistics highlight a huge difference between the numbers of tests conducted for drug driving compared to those for drink driving. They also show that a proportionately higher number of drivers tested positive for drugs than for alcohol.
According to the national Association of Chief Police Officers, figures from the 2009 Christmas drink and drug driving campaign  show that:

• Police conducted 223,423 breathalyser tests for alcohol – three percent were positive, failed or refused
• In comparison, just 489 Field Impairment Tests were carried out for drug driving – with 18 percent arrested
• The total number of drink driving tests was up by almost 22 percent
• This compares to less than a two percent increase in drug driving tests

Enforcement practices such as testing are just one instrument in combating drug driving, and that the combined impact of running awareness campaigns alongside the raised profile that roadside testing brings, can make a significant improvement to road safety. We draw attention to some hard hitting campaigns by UK Police Forces on similar issues – such as Gwent Police’s COW  film, about a teenage girl from a Gwent valleys family who kills four people on the road because she used her mobile and lost her concentration for a few seconds. It is an extraordinarily graphic film produced with the help of schoolchildren. Similarly on drug driving issues, Australia has produced a number of adverts in conjunction with roadside test programmes that provide a similarly hard hitting message – such as a recent one from Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission.

Concateno has developed a brand new, oral fluid point of care testing solution – The Alere™ DDS®2 Mobile Test System. It is lightweight, portable and can test in a wide range of environments.

Using the DDS®2, police will be able to detect up to 6 drugs from a single oral fluid sample in a matter of minutes.

Find out more about the AlereTM DDS®2 Mobile Test System

The Alere™ DDS®2’s predecessor – the Cozart® DDS® – is currently being used for roadside testing programmes in  countries including Australia, Croatia, Italy and Spain.

Italy and Concateno

Concateno has provided over 200 handheld drug testing units to Italian police forces, including Milan, Naples, the Piedmont region and Rome. In total, the Carabinieri use the DDS in seven different cities.

Rome City Hall approached Concateno recently for the provision of 750 tests to support a three-month drug driving test trial starting July 2010. Rome is considering issuing a tender for all 23 Roman municipalities to be supplied with mobile drug testing kits for suspected drug driving offenders.

In a separate development to this, the central Italian Government is considering a trial of four drug testing devices including the Cozart DDS. The purpose will be to establish a standard device for police forces across Italy.

The Italian police experience demonstrates satisfaction with the DDS device as an effective deterrent against drug driving.

Australia and Concateno

Concateno has been providing random roadside drug testing for the Australian police since 2004. The State of Victoria, which is at the forefront of the country’s road safety initiatives, was the first in the world to effect a change in legislation and allow random testing. Other Australian states have subsequently followed, including Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.

Since the introduction of this testing regime, a clear trend has been seen in the State of Victoria, with incidences of drivers detected with illicit drugs present halved over a five-year period, from one driver in 44 to one driver in 94, and a reduction in the involvement of illicit drug in road trauma has occurred. This means that fewer drivers are driving while taking drugs, indicating that a regime such as the one adopted by Australia is effective in reducing drug driving and contributing to safer roads. Concateno believes that this significant impact has been due to the combination of an effective, highly visible roadside enforcement process with driver awareness media campaigns.

Australia’s head of roadside testing for the State of Victoria Police, Inspector Martin Boorman, said: “In Australia, the use of roadside drug testing technology has proved extremely successful and has certainly helped to make our roads safer. Roadside drug testing, much like the roadside alcohol screening test, acts as a deterrent, but also provides the police with a quick and effective means to help catch those people who drive while using illegal substances. This technology, used in conjunction with a widespread educational campaign, has and continues to be extremely successful.”