The Ministry’s Secretary, Agustin Jaime Gonzalez Alvarez, said the department is working with a German company to determine the accuracy of the rapid drug testing, and then presenting the results to the state governor for approval of its usage.
Interviewed at the National Congress on Risk Prevention of Accidents, which opened today, González Álvarez explained that with one quick saliva test we can detect if the driver has consumed cocaine, marijuana or methamphetamines.
The approval of rapid drug testing for traffic violations will require a law change from the state congress to determine what level of drugs present in the body would be considered illegal and the punishment for driving under the influence of illegal drugs.
“The company that has approached the State of Jalisco is a very reputable company in Germany and what we want now is to see if we can bring these tests to the state and above all see if there is a practical use,” said Álvarez.
The drug tests would be administered with breathalyzers in cases where a driver is suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Tests could be administered during routine traffic stops, checkpoints, or accident scenes.
The health secretary said that in the first half of 2014 deaths in road accidents in Jalisco had decreased, at present 788 deaths this year, 39 fewer than in the same period last year; largely attributed to the success of Operation Lifesaving headed by the Department of Transportation.
Now there is a step in the right direction!!!!!
Really!
Bullshit
They already do breathalyzer at checkpoints.