It is no secret that impaired driving is dangerous and can lead to serious or even fatal motor vehicle accidents. While most people in Indiana recognize that alcohol can impair your driving abilities, drug use can also impair your driving abilities. Drugged driving can be difficult to detect, but a new tool has been issued to Indiana officers that may help combat this problem.
Identifying drugged driving
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute has given 52 law enforcement agencies in the state a new tool that can reportedly be used when a suspected drugged driver is pulled over. It is called the SoToxa Mobile Testing System. The tool is a handheld device. It uses an mouth swab to obtain oral fluids, and with this sample can identify six types of controlled substances, including cocaine, meth, opiates, marijuana, benzodiazepines and amphetamines.
Drugged driving leads to fatal accidents
Having a tool that can identify drugged driving at the roadside is an important step in combating drugged driving. Unfortunately, drugged driving is on the upswing in the U.S. A Governors Highway Safety Association report states that 44% of fatal impaired driving accidents in 2016 involved drivers who had drugs in their system. This is a 28% increase from the number of drugged driver fatalities in 2006.
Were you in an accident involving a drugged driver?
Drugged driving can impair a motorist’s ability to drive safely, breaching their duty of care while behind the wheel. If this duty is breached and leads to an accident that causes another person to suffer damages, the drugged driver may be held accountable. This post does not offer legal advice, so those in Portage or Valparaiso who were injured in a drugged driver or who lost a loved one at the hands of a drugged driver may want to discuss their situation with a personal injury attorney so they can better understand their rights and options.
