Traffic police try new drug testing device

It has long been easy to test whether drivers in Norway are affected by alcohol. A breathalyzer is easy to use and gives reliable results. Unfortunately, it has been much more complicated to test whether someone is affected by drugs. A blood test had to be taken, followed by waiting for results.

They tried to remedy this by introducing a drug testing device that analyzed saliva samples. Unfortunately, the device proved very unreliable. It could both say that a person who was not affected by drugs was, and that obviously intoxicated people were not under the influence. Testing of this device was therefore stopped.

Now the traffic police have received a new device: the Dräger DrugTest 5000. Each traffic police district has now received one device for testing. This device has already been tested by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and is said to be reliable.

Those who test positive must still provide a blood sample. This provides a good opportunity to verify whether the device’s results are correct.