Dutch police to use saliva tests in hunt for drug using motorists

From July 1st a new law will be implemented in the Netherlands that will allow the Dutch police to use saliva tests to check whether motorists are under the influence of drugs. The police will use the saliva test to quickly check for drug use, after which a proper blood test will be done which will be checked by the Netherlands Forensic Institute, RTL Nieuws reports.

In 2014 the Dutch government tightened controls on motorists, scooter drivers and motorcyclists by completely banning the use of alcohol and drugs in traffic. Road users are required to cooperate in a saliva test. The intention was to introduce the new law in 2015, but that was delayed due to problems with tenders for the saliva tests. The acquisition of the testers took longer than expected.

Belgium already implemented the saliva test with great success, according to RTL. In five years time the Belgian police caught double the number of driving drug users than before the test.