The Defence and Security
Accelerator (DASA) is pleased to launch a new Market
Exploration called Evidential Testing of Drug
Drivers, which aims to explore innovative technology to
support more efficient handling of drug drive cases, through
point of contact testing.
This Market Exploration is being run on behalf of the Home Office (HO) and seeks
technologies from across the Technology Readiness
Level (TRL) spectrum.
Do you have an innovative solution? Read the full Market
Exploration now and submit your idea.
Enabling accurate roadside testing for drug drive
cases
Drug driving is most commonly policed by Section 5A of
the Road Traffic Act 1988, which states it is an offence to
be in charge of a motor vehicle with a concentration of a
specified drug above a specified limit. Read the full Market
Exploration for information on concentration thresholds in
blood for drug driving offences.
To get evidence for court proceedings, a blood sample is sent to
a Forensic Service Provider (FSP) for analysis. This Market
Exploration aims to reduce the logistical burden on FSP
toxicology departments, by seeking technology or concepts that
may lead to an instrument police can use to perform evidential
analysis at a police station or at the roadside.
Current legislation requires evidential analysis of a sample of
blood or urine. DASA is also interested less invasive
alternatives, such as saliva testing.
What innovations are DASA and the Home Office looking
for?
We are looking for a technology that can provide a comparable
result to laboratory testing. Solutions may include innovations
that:
- can contribute to a device or approach at least equivalent or
better than current laboratory testing
- is applicable to one or both of cocaine or cannabis (THC).
However, it is desirable for the innovation to have the potential
to be acted upon all the drugs listed in the full Market
Exploration document
- is capable of generating a ‘while you wait’ result (ideally
no more than 30 minutes)
- helps us understand which testing matrices the technology
uses is most effective, such as blood, urine or saliva
Do you have an in-depth understanding of emerging capabilities,
technologies, initiatives and novel approaches that may help
enable accurate roadside testing for drug drive cases? Submit an idea and
help inform the Home Office in methods for improving point of
contact testing for drug drivers
Submit your innovation
Read the full Market
Exploration document and submit your innovation.
