On the spot drug detection for errant drivers

By Maneshka Borham

In the wake of increasing narcotic use by errant bus drivers on long distance buses, the police will purchase on-the-spot narcotic detecting machines to take action against the suspects, DIG Traffic Amarasiri Senaratne said.

Police will crack down on errant drivers following the alarming trend of long distance bus drivers being under the influence of cannabis and other narcotics.

“At present, we have no way to detect if a driver is under the influence of drugs, unless we follow the lengthy process of taking blood samples and sending them for analysis,” he said adding that the machines used by police can only detect a person under the influence of alcohol.

He said the police have indented for these machines which are internationally recognised.

Traffic Police officers using these machines could detect in a matter of minutes, if a person was under the influence of drugs by analysing saliva. The machines will detect cannabis use along with five other categories of narcotics used by these errant drivers, the sources said.

According to the police the drivers drive in a reckless manner due to competition with their bus rivals . “We now hope to use modern technology to combat this issue” DIG Senaratne said.