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AlphaSIP fights against drug driving
Published 22/10/12According to the Article 27.1 of the Spanish General Driving Law referring to drug driving, it is illegal to drive under a psychoactive substance. The first control test performed by the police is fast and 90% reliable and is done by collecting the driver’s saliva with sanitized swabs. In the market there are different commercial products whose working principle is the same, the use of an opto-electronic reader which reads the results of the cassette or card that contains the saliva sample. Within these disposable cassettes there are a series of strips containing proteins called antibodies that specifically and unequivocally recognize the active compounds or metabolites of drugs of abuse to be determined. These devices are capable of detecting various types of drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines, antidepressants or anxiolytics, among others. In the market there are a limited number of high cost devices and sometimes unwieldy dimensions.
Alphasip, a Spanish company from Aragon, in response to market needs to have an affordable and easy to use drugs of abuse detection device, has developed its new product COCACHIP. This device allows a safe, noninvasive and objective analysis of the results revealed by the cassette with a small sample of saliva which is collected through a cheek swab. It is also fast and simple, consisting of three steps and a maximum duration of 10 minutes. It does not require medical staff and is guaranteed by a quality system and CE manufacturing. It also contains a printer for obtaining a physical documentation of results displayed on the LCD screen. Furthermore, AlphaSIP also offers an affordable service counteranalysis to ensure complete identification and quantification of the drugs consumed. These tests are performed in reference laboratories. The method used is mass chromatographic analysis GC / MS, which analyses a second saliva sample, transported in custody.
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Drug driving rises alarmingly
Published 22/10/12The recent publication of several European and national projects focused on drug driving has revealed data on this subject which is quite worrying. In a test conducted this year by the DGT has concluded that, approximately one in five Spanish drivers has used drugs and one in two drivers who had symptoms gave positive drug results. Likewise, data from the National Institute of Toxicology revealed that each year, around five hundred deaths that occur each year are due to drug driving in Spain. This shows that alcohol is no longer the only dangerous substance at the wheel.
Cannabis and cocaine are the two most common types of drugs detected among Spanish drivers, followed by opiates, methamphetamine and amphetamine.
Zero tolerance: drug and drink driving
Sin August 2012, the Spanish Traffic Department (DGT) has launched a campaign of “Zero Tolerance” supported by an advertising campaign in the media and on the roads and an increase in the number of drug test controls. These preventive controls will be more frequent and random; will be held in the event that a driver with clear signs of being on drugs that has presented a negative breath test. The test will consist in collecting a small sample of saliva.
Note that what is punished is driving under the influence of a drug. If the first test indicates a positive outcome of a drug, the police man will immobilize the car and perform a second test which will be forwarded to a reference laboratory.
