Tracking Drugged Driving Arrests

An effort to better track drugged driving arrests in Colorado is now in effect.  As Bente Birkeland reports, the measure requires law enforcement to document what substances are contributing to DUI’s beyond alcohol…

Right now not every jurisdiction records information on people driving under the influence of drugs, and most DUIs get lumped together. Democratic Representative Jonathan Singer of Longmont is the main sponsor of a bill to change that. If someone is mixing alcohol with other drugs, he says the state wouldn’t know.

“If they blow .08 it’s pretty rare that law enforcement will test for other substances. .08 is the per se limit. Most other drug tests are really expensive compared to a Breathalyzer.”

Law enforcement agencies must now look at past DUI convictions and test those samples for drugs. The goal is to report back to the legislature to better understand how marijuana, prescription drugs and other drugs are contributing to DUIs.