Police to start using drugalysers to catch drug drivers

Police have been granted new powers allowing them to use a drugalyser to test drivers for illegal substances. Selected police forces throughout England and Wales will be issued with cannabis testing kits prior to the introduction of a new drug driving law.

The secretary of state for transport, Patrick McLoughlin, will be announcing the new plans today. When the police suspect a person is driving under the influence of cannabis, they currently need to take the driver to a police station for testing. The new mobile testing kits, dubbed drugalysers, will allow on the spot drug tests to be carried out.

The drugalysers test saliva for the presence of cannabis in much the same way that a breathalyser detects alcohol. If cannabis is present, the police will then have to carry out a conventional drugs test at the police station; if the test is negative, the driver will be free to go.

This new technology should help to save money, waste less police time, and lead to more convictions. The first forces to use the drugalysers will include Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Greater Manchester.

Drug driving is responsible for 200 road deaths every year but it is estimated that only one in fifty drug drivers will ever be caught.

In the summer a new law will be introduced to make drug driving an offence and the new tests will form the basis of prosecutions. The new law will not only make driving under the influence of illegal drugs an offence but will also cover the abuse of prescription drugs.