Close to 10% of the bus drivers and conductors screened under a national drug-testing programme had used drugs, the National Transport Medical Institute says.
NTMI Chairman Professor Clifford Perera said the tests conducted so far, covering the Western, Southern, North Western and Sabaragamuwa provinces, confirmed that figure.
Perera said the process of testing drivers who operate vehicles under the influence of drugs is continuing.
The programme behind the figure
The screening runs under the two-year strategic plan of the National Road Safety Programme, which conducts random drug tests on drivers, conductors and assistants working in public transport to identify narcotics use on duty.
Earlier this month the Health Ministry handed a fully equipped mobile laboratory bus to the NTMI to widen the testing effort. At that point the institute said 7,150 tests had been carried out and the programme was operating in five of the country’s nine provinces.
Perera’s latest account names four provinces. Neither the institute nor NewsFirst stated whether the 10% rate covers the full 7,150-test set or a subset, and no updated test total was given alongside the percentage.
Context
Enforcement against drug-impaired driving has intensified through the year. Police have made thousands of arrests for drug-impaired driving, and roadside operations have produced repeated clusters of detections among route-bus crews, including arrests at Padukka this month.
Health Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said at the August handover that investigations into a number of road accidents had found drivers involved were allegedly using narcotics.
