Santo Domingo.- The General Directorate of Traffic and Land Transportation Safety (DIGESETT), together with the National Institute of Traffic and Land Transportation (INTRANT), began on Friday night the pilot plan for alcohol testing of 177 drivers traveling along Winston Churchill Avenue. , of the National District, with the aim of significantly reducing deaths from traffic accidents in the country.
Among the results obtained at the beginning of the pilot plan, the entity verified 177 drivers of which 172 were in 4-tire vehicles and 5 motorcycles, resulting in 35 positive people and 142 negative.
The general director of DIGESETT, General Francisco Osoria De La Cruz, PN, stated that this initiative is crucial to reduce the number of traffic accidents caused by alcohol consumption by drivers, which represent 80% of cases. in the Dominican Republic. He added that the initiative is part of a great National Plan for Road Safety, promoted by President Luís Rodolfo Abinader Corona, to reduce deaths due to this cause.
The operation, which began at 9:00 at night and ended at 4:00 in the morning on Saturday, was attended by 40 DIGESETT agents spread throughout the control perimeter and in the check area who used the Alco-Sensor VXL, Point of Arrest and Alco-Sensor FST instruments, to measure drivers’ blood alcohol levels.
General Osoria stated that the main interest is to raise awareness among drivers who travel through different avenues under the influence of alcoholic beverages.
Protocol
Dominican legislation allows random breathalyzer tests to be carried out on drivers or pedestrians, on a preventive basis, whether circumstantial or as part of operations on people who are in public places and who intend to drive a motor vehicle.
“When the breathalyzer test is positive, the DIGESETT agent may keep the driver under surveillance for up to four (4) hours. However, the driver may leave immediately if a family member or relative appears who is responsible for taking him to his destination,” as established in article 259 of Law 63-17.
