The Implementation of Technical Means for Checking Drivers' Impaired State is Planned: Ministry of Internal Affairs

The Ministry of Internal Affairs has presented a draft for public discussion, proposing the possibility of using technical means to check for the state of impairment due to drug use, and on this basis, impose administrative liability. This was reported from the platform of legal act drafts.

The proposed amendment to law is to modify Article 10, Part 1, Point 'zh' of the RA Law on Ensuring Road Traffic Safety, dated July 8, 2005, by adding the words 'or substances of biological origin containing drugs or psychotropic (psychoactive) substances' after the phrase 'pure alcohol'.

Justification of the draft: 'Under current legislation, the police have the right to utilize technical means only to check a person’s (driver's) sobriety through the presence of alcohol in exhaled air (to verify the fact of being in a state of impairment), whereas in the case of suspected drug use, verification of that fact is only conducted through blood or urine tests by medical organizations.'