Drug tests in traffic start in Turkey

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

Officers began using the test device after attending a seminar aiming to educate them on the new testing system. dha PHOTO

Traffic police began conducting drug tests on drivers on Aug. 21, following the official launch of the new regulation, which calls for monetary fines and prison sentences for driving under the influence of illegal substances.

Officers began using the test device after attending a seminar aiming to educate them on the new testing system. The device, capable of recognizing over 190 kinds of drug substances, was introduced to the press by Traffic Control Branch official Ali Özsoylar, who was accompanied during the introduction by German experts.

Any driver who tests positive for drugs will not only lose his or her license for the next five years, but will also be fined over 3,500 Turkish Liras. The saliva sample retrieved from the driver will be held for a minimum of two years as judicial evidence.

Those who refuse to be tested will be fined 2,000 liras and their licenses will be suspended for two years, according to reports. The punishment however will be suspended if the accused driver provides a report from the Forensic Medicine Institution that proves otherwise.