New rule for Dry Law provides for testing to detect drug use and mandatory examination in fatal accidents

The regulations also make it mandatory, in traffic accidents resulting in death, to be tested to detect the presence of alcohol or other psychoactive substances in the drivers involved.

The resolution updates inspection procedures in force since 2013 and establishes a screening stage in operations carried out by transit agencies across the country.

The new rules come into force with the publication of the resolution in the Official Gazette of the Union, scheduled for Tuesday (18). Changes to inspection records and infraction codes will have a period of 60 days to come into effect, a period intended for the adaptation of transit agency systems.

The updated standards expand the procedures to identify the use of other psychoactive substances by drivers. The standard allows the use of certified equipment capable of indicating which substance was detected, but not its quantity in the body. The result, therefore, will be qualitative.

The simple detection of traces of a substance will not be sufficient, alone, to characterize the infraction. The inspection must also consider other elements, such as signs of changes in the driver's psychomotor capacity.

In these cases, the agent must record in the infraction notice or in a specific document at least two signs observed that indicate this change.

Devices used to detect other substances must be certified within the scope of SBAC (Brazilian Conformity Assessment System) by a body accredited by Inmetro (National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology).

The resolution does not determine the adoption of a specific device nor does it establish that new equipment will have to be used immediately. Implementation will depend on the availability of supervisory bodies and the existence of certified devices.

According to Folha de S.Paulo from Senatran (National Traffic Secretariat), there is still no certified equipment in the country, but there are companies seeking certification.

In the case of alcohol, according to the new rules, agents will initially be able to use the so-called pre-test or passive blood alcohol test, designed to identify signs of the presence of the substance.

The result of this screening will only be for guidance and, alone, cannot be used to fine the driver or prove that he was driving under the influence of alcohol. If the device indicates the presence of the substance, the driver must go through the evidentiary procedures provided for in the standard.

The regulations also establish that a retest must be carried out when any technical or operational factor may compromise the obtaining of a valid result. This includes situations where it is necessary to rule out the presence of residual alcohol in the upper respiratory tract.

This type of alcohol may be present temporarily after consumption or use of certain products. The resolution cites liquor candy, mouthwash and sliced ??bread as examples.

Therefore, a positive indication in the passive test after consumption of one of these products will not automatically mean that the driver drank alcohol or committed an infraction. Further assessment will be necessary before the inspection can be completed.

The screening stage is already adopted in inspection operations in states such as Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul and Rio de Janeiro, in addition to national actions by the PRF (Federal Highway Police). The resolution now establishes national criteria for the procedure.

Detran-SP (São Paulo State Traffic Department) and the Military Traffic Police will wait for the rules to be published in the Official Gazette to analyze what will change in the inspection routine. Until then, they will continue to follow the old rules.

For lawyer Antonio José Dias Júnior, coordinator of the Traffic Law Commission of the OAB-SP (Brazilian Bar Association), the changes represent an evolution, since the resolution that established the Dry Law is from 2013 and was outdated.

“At the time, there was no [traffic] infraction for refusing the tests provided to check whether the person was driving under the influence of alcohol or an addictive psychoactive substance,” he states. “It also didn’t provide for a passive breathalyzer,” he says.

Flávio Adura, scientific director of Abramet (Brazilian Association of Traffic Medicine), states that, in principle, the institution evaluates the update of the rules positively.

“The measure preserves the foundations of the zero blood alcohol policy and expands the focus of inspection to other substances capable of compromising driving and, consequently, road safety”, he says.

Another change is related to traffic accidents. The new rule determines that the drivers involved are subject to inspection for alcohol and other psychoactive substances whenever possible.

In the event of death, an examination will be mandatory to identify alcohol or other psychoactive substances in the drivers involved.

The results obtained should also feed data used by public authorities in planning, managing and evaluating road safety policies.

The breathalyzer will continue to be used normally to detect alcohol consumption.

The resolution also modifies the procedures adopted in cases of refusal to take the test, but does not change the penalties provided for in the CTB (Brazilian Traffic Code).

The new regulations determine that, in the same approach, two fines should not be issued simultaneously: one for driving under the influence of alcohol or another psychoactive substance and another for refusing to take the test intended to co