The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday.
The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers.
Seems a bit more invasive compared to a breathalyzer test. Regarding the test kits themselves is the saliva test discarded and destroyed, is it added to a database for government record, etc. just what exactly happens to the collected DNA?
Drug testing in the U.S. - specifically field drug tests - are notoriously unreliable. Articles and examples below:
Next they’ll be asking for mandatory DNA. This will be a nightmare with all the benzos the doctors dish out here. I’m getting quite fed up with this nanny state. Excuse me sir we would ike your spit.
Just give them your DNA , let them watch you in your house too. If you’re not doing anything wrong then it’s ok right. How about giving them a nude picture too so they can see any suspicious injection marks.
I see this step as less “nanny state" and more “invasive slippery slope" state. There’s quite a bit more that can be done regarding police functions and enforcement to enhance general traffic safety that would have the same intended follow-on result that this initiative intends.
My worry is this “field test" would be just as easily abused and unreliable leading to false positives, etc. when a blood draw would be more thorough and precise.
If its like the UK then its a road-side test, which they deem to be pretty sensitive for multiple drugs. If it comes up positive then its off to the station for a blood sample which is the evidential one. WRT to DNA - they will take a DNA sample at the station after they arrest you for testing positive. This DNA sample is generally kept on the database even if you are not charged and released.
If your saliva test is negative then you won’t be arrested for drug druving and the sample is yours not theirs to keep.
How does the testing work? For example, is it testing for metabolites? Meaning someone took something 3 days ago but when driving they test positive even though they’re sober at that point. That would be my concern.
They often do a blood draw after a fatal accident or very serious accident. I have no issue in that circumstance but certainly not shotgun field tests. Like you say false negatives will be huge. Then all doctors maybe held liable for not warning anyone on sleeping medications not to drive until the half life has gone to zero. Then of course it’s going down the invasive path as you say.
Yesterday there was a DUI stop for the freeway on-ramp. Officer just sniffed inside and checked for seatbelts before sending me on my way. Parked right in front were two additional officers with breathalyzer devices. So, I guess the setup would be the same/similar for the saliva testing.
It’s actually going to be very challenging for the police to manage and also for the courts to deal , driving under drug influence is a very serious problem here and they are finally forced to really do something about it. They need saliva roadside tests as otherwise it’s a huge mafan to take people down to the station and get urine and blood samples for a suspected case. Currently many drivers are just let go because of this .
Well that’s exactly what can happen with alcohol already.
Drug misuse is rampant in Taiwan it has caused many deaths recently, many media reports available. The drug Etomidate is a really big issue (space oil) that are using from vapes, but then you have amphetamines and the benzos legal and illegal.
