CAIRO: Some 1,833 out of 9,000 drivers on Egypt’s high ways tested positive in random drug tests administered in July and August, Director of Anti-Addiction Fund Amr Othman told The Cairo Post Sunday.
A slight increase in the number of positive tests among drivers has been witnessed, after traffic authorities observed a decline following the application of a tough amended traffic law in 2014.
Before the law took in effect, the number of drivers who tested positive was 30 percent, and then it gradually decreased amid intensified campaigns to 13 percent, according to a recent drug test on 1,200 truck drivers in June and July, Amr explained. According to the recent numbers, the number re-surged to 18 percent.
He said “there is a current intensification in the daily campaigns at checkpoints on highways,” where truck drivers are subjected to random urine tests.
A drug test device
“Unfortunately, there is usually a hike in the rate of drug abuse during vacations and feasts in the country,” he added.
Amr, however, indicated a “remarkable improvement” in terms of drivers found under the influence of drugs since the adoption of the new penalties, under which drivers could face up to three years in jail.
A 2014 national survey by the Anti-Addiction Fund indicated that 24 percent of Egyptian drivers perform their work under the influence of drugs.
Drivers who abuse drugs think “[drugs] make them alert and give them power to bear the long road,” a taxi driver previously told The Cairo Post.
“Between 30-40 percent of those who requested [the fund’s] assistance to quit drugs were drivers,” he added.
The fund organizes awareness campaigns against drug abuse and offers assistance to those who are willing to recover.
Drivers who drive under the influence of drugs have three options: to seek treatment, quit their job or face imprisonment, Amr said.
A number of state authorities are participating in the campaign, including: the Ministries of Endowment and Transport, the Traffic Authority and the Anti-Addiction Fund.
The campaign is planning to carry out drug tests on school bus drivers this academic year in 600 private and international schools. Last year’s examinations of 1,400 school bus drivers resulted in 7 percent testing positive.
Last year, 11 students burned to death in a crash, which an involved truck driver who tested positive for hashish. The government’s escalated measures are believed to be a result of the fatal accident.
The Student’s Bus Caught On Fire After An Oil Tanker And Three Cars Crashed Into It In Beheira – YOUM7/ Gamal Abu El-Fadl
Egypt is one of 10 countries included in the Road Safety Project 2011-2020, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO,) which aims to reduce the level of road traffic fatalities around the world by 50 percent.
In 2014, a total of 14, 403 road accidents took place and fatalities toll recorded 6, 226, according to a reported by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS.)