Drugged driving goes unchecked

The Traffic Department doesn8217;t have the handheld device, drugalyser, that is used by several police forces abroad and is similar to the breath analyser to check for alcohol level to crack down on those driving under the influence of narcotic substances.

8220;We do not have on-road testing equipment for such cases. If at all we suspect anybody driving under the influence of drugs, we have to send him for a blood test which takes time,8221; said Vijay Kamble, Joint Commissioner Traffic of Mumbai Police. He admitted that the lack of the handheld drugalyser was a major impediment in booking such drivers.

For a drugalyzer test, saliva is sampled from under the tongue and drops of the fluid enter the well of a cartridge containing a nitrocellulose strip, which resembles a bar code. Depending on the level of the drug, the drugalyser shows an array of line intensities on the panel.