ROSITA - Roadsite Testing Assessment
Overview
Background & policy context:
In recent years the negative impact on traffic safety of driving under the influence of drugs has been widely recognised. As driving a car is understood to be a complex task where the driver continuously has to deal with lots of information and will have to react to it, the influence of illicit drugs and medicines on driving performance is critically investigated.
Hence, a need for development of more reliable, easy-to-handle and cost effective roadside test equipment is articulated throughout Europe. These technical and operational aspects are accompanied by the requirement to harmonise and specify legal preconditions for drug testing of suspected drivers.
Objectives:
The aim of the ROSITA project was to identify the requirements for roadside testing equipment, and to make a comparative assessment of existing equipment and prototypes.
The main objectives of ROSITA were:
- to determine the drugs and medicines that are suspected to have detrimental impact to road user performance;
- to survey the state-of-the-art roadside testing equipment for urine, sweat and saliva, and to gather information about other tests that can be used to evaluate the impairment of roadside drivers;
- to investigate into the operational, user and legal requirements for roadside testing equipment that do exist across Member States of the European Community;
- to assess the usability, practicability, sensitivity, accuracy and costs of available roadside test devices; and
- to recommend advanced future roadside testing equipment for Europe.
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