DUI Doesn’t Just Mean Booze

Drugs are taken to affect a person’s physical or mental condition in some way and in turn can negatively impact a driver’s ability to drive with full concentration. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) National Roadside Survey found that more than 16% of weekend, night-time drivers tested positive for illegal, prescription, or over-the-counter medications (11% tested positive for illegal drugs). Marijuana is the most commonly used drug found in drivers which is likely to increase as many states in the US now permit this drug for recreational use.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 11.8 million people aged 16 and older drove under the influence of illicit drugs in 2016. This survey also found that men and young adults aged 18 to 25 are more likely than women to drive when under the influence.

After alcohol, marijuana is the most common drug found in the blood of drivers involved in crashes. Studies have shown that drivers with THC in their blood were roughly twice as likely to be responsible for a deadly crash or killed than drivers who hadn’t used drugs or alcohol.

Moreover, recent reports highlighted that 44 percent of fatally injured drivers tested positive for drugs in 2016. A percentage that has largely increased from 2006, when just 28-percent of fatally injured drivers were drug-positive.

Many studies have reported the urgent need for impairment screening methods that can use oral fluid matrices to detect marijuana and other substances that prove difficult to detect. Randox Toxicology offer the most comprehensive drugs of abuse screening test menu, which is available across multiple forensic matrices including oral fluid. Delivering cutting-edge multiplex testing capabilities, our Biochip Array Technology provides rapid and accurate drug detection from a single sample.

Utilising our patented Biochip Array Technology, our Evidence MultiSTAT oral fluid panel covers a broad range of classical, prescription and common DUID drugs of abuse.

For more information about our products for driving under the influence screening, email info@randoxtoxicology.com or visit www.randoxtoxicology.com. If you are attending ICAP DAID, August 13-15 in Nashville Tennessee make sure you visit us at table 20.