Skip to main content

Home office approval for roadside drug testing device

International safety manufacturer, Dräger, has received Home Office approval for its drug detection equipment for roadside drug testing. The fully automated Dräger DrugTest 5000 will be used by police forces around the UK, to test for cannabis and cocaine at the roadside, similar to the in which way drivers are breathalysed for alcohol. The device can also be used to in a range of industries including transport, logistics and haulage. The easy-to-use DrugTest 5000 underwent rigorous testing at the Home Offi
February 27, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
International safety manufacturer, Dräger, has received Home Office approval for its drug detection equipment for roadside drug testing.

The fully automated Dräger DrugTest 5000 will be used by police forces around the UK, to test for cannabis and cocaine at the roadside, similar to the in which way drivers are breathalysed for alcohol.

The device can also be used to in a range of industries including transport, logistics and haulage.

The easy-to-use DrugTest 5000 underwent rigorous testing at the Home Office’s centre for applied science and technology (CAST) to confirm its accuracy. It has been designed for real time usage, with the ability to analyse saliva samples immediately for precise results on the spot.

Whilst operating in real time, the Dräger DrugTest 5000 also has extensive data management capabilities, allowing for up to 400 individual measurements to be stored at any one time. An integral part of the equipment, this offers longer term solutions for users, with track-able data supporting target areas for enforcement.
The approval of this mobile device also means officers will no longer have to wait until they are at the police station to test drivers they suspect of being under the influence of drugs.

The approval comes as new drug driving legislation is due to come into effect in March 2015, meaning people caught driving under the influence of drugs will face harsher penalties including up to six months’ imprisonment, a US$7,000 fine and 12 months’ disqualification.

The Dräger DrugTest 5000 is already widely used by police forces around the country and the rest of the world, with around 2,000 sold in the UK and approximately 100,000 worldwide.

Related Content

  • British drivers face ban on hands-free mobiles
    August 14, 2019
    UK drivers could be banned from using phones in hands-free mode, following a suggestion from MPs. The House of Commons Transport Select Committee has said that current UK law creates the “misleading impression” that the use of hands-free phones is a safe driving practice. However, there is increasing evidence to show that hands-free usage “creates the same risks of collision as using a hand-held device,” say the law-makers. In its latest report, Road Safety: driving while using a mobile phone, the
  • Technology solution needed to counter mobile phone menace
    March 29, 2017
    With the UK set to increase the penalties for using mobile phones while driving, the RAC Foundation’s Steve Gooding considers what else can be done to combat this deadly distraction. The first mobile phone call was made in 1973, by an engineer working for Motorola. Today 4.7 billion people across the globe subscribe to a mobile service.
  • Sony helps Rio get a better view of the Olympics
    June 29, 2016
    With the Olympics approaching, Sony’s Stephane Clauss examines how the latest camera technologies can help cities cope with the huge crowds attending major events. This August will see more than 10,000 athletes head to Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics Games. Alongside them will be their coaching staff, a hoard of logistics teams, thousands of volunteer marshals (London 2012 had 70,000) and millions of spectators. All such major events have nervous jitters on the way to the opening ceremony. This year has see
  • Siemens influences congestion reduction
    March 12, 2021
    When it comes to reducing congestion, even relatively small interventions can have significant and positive knock-on effects, suggests Steve O’Sullivan of Siemens Mobility