Law Enforcement implementing roadside tool to combat drugged drivers
For Immediate Release: Aug 05 2024
STATEWIDE, N.D. – Law enforcement officers across the state will soon receive mobile screening devices to detect if a driver may be under the influence of drugs.
Beginning this fall, up to 40 law enforcement agencies will start training officers on how to use the SoToxa oral fluid device. Like a Breathalyzer test, the SoToxa test can be administered as a screening tool after an officer suspects impairment from a driver. The oral fluid sample will assist the officer in determining what might be causing the impairment.
Used in a roadside pilot program in North Dakota from January 2022 to July 2023, oral fluid samples determined at least one drug was present in 83% of the cases, with 51% of the cases identifying marijuana (THC).
“The pilot program confirmed what was previously anecdotal evidence from law enforcement; drivers are using impairing substances, other than just alcohol on North Dakota roads,” said DRE state coordinator, Trooper Tarek Chase. “With 46% of samples from the pilot program indicating two or more drugs found in the subjects’ systems, this clearly demonstrates the need for law enforcement to have tools to identify drug-impaired driving in order to remove those drivers from the road.”
The device can detect the presence of a variety of drugs including marijuana (THC), benzodiazepines, cocaine, amphetamines, methamphetamines and opiates.
Alcohol and drug-related crashes are 100% preventable. To combat impaired driving, law enforcement agencies across the state will take part in Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over from Aug. 16. to Sept. 2. Many lives would be saved in North Dakota each year if every driver consistently makes the choice to always drive sober or to designate a sober driver.
Learn more about traffic safety initiatives at VisionZero.ND.gov or join the conversation on the Vision Zero ND Facebook or X page.
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