The drivers who are involved in accidents, besides the alcohol test, also take a medical test to determine the presence or absence of parent drugs or their metabolites. During the past few months of this year, the number of persons caught driving under the influence of drugs or other psychotropic substances increased and the number of road accidents also rose as a result.

Contacted by IPN, Gheorghe Rosior, head of the medical examination section of the National Narcology Dispensary, said two specimens, of blood and of urine, are taken from drivers involved in road accidents to determine if they drank alcohol or took drugs. During the first half of this year, 154 persons were caught driving under the influence of alcohol after committing traffic accidents, while 170 committed road accidents under the influence of drugs.

“It should be also noted that the alcohol has smell and the signs of inebriation persist for several hours and are evident. In the case of drug use, the clinical manifestations are less pronounced. Thus, the drugs remain in blood for two-four hours and are then deposited in muscles and liver,” explained the expert, saying these can no longer be detected in blood and urine is thus collected to identify metabolites.

Gheorghe Rosior said the National Narcology Dispensary and the public district hospitals have possibilities of determining the state of inebriation and its nature. These have express tests for establishing if the person took drugs or drank alcohol and lab equipment for determining the quantity of used alcohol and/or drugs.

The expert said there were cases when the drivers involved in road accidents, seeing that they have to take the drug test, refused to have the medical examination. Among the drivers caught under the influence of drugs were also taxi and minibus drivers and even one trolleybus driver as well as three public functionaries, who took medicines with similar effects and thus shouldn’t have driven.

Currently, the section has express tests to identify 12 types of drugs. Soon, there will be purchased tests that can detect 20 types of drugs.

According to specialists, the effects of drugs are different. Among these are the state of euphoria, accelerated speech, anxiety, states of confusion, somnolence, discomfort, weakness, agitation that can degenerate into depression, aggressiveness, etc. In case of suspicions, the employees of the National Patrolling Inspectorate are obliged to take the driver to the neighboring public medical institution for an alcohol and drug test.