- The delegate of the Government in Cantabria and the provincial head of Traffic have delivered this material to the councilor of Citizen Security of the Cantabrian capital, Eduardo Castillo
The Provincial Traffic Headquarters of Cantabria, under the General Traffic Directorate (DGT) of the Ministry of the Interior, has delivered to the Local Police of Santander 300 kits to perform drug tests on drivers.
The delegate of the Government in Cantabria, Pedro Casares, and the provincial head of Traffic, José Miguel Tolosa, have delivered the material to the councilor of Citizen Security of the City of Santander, Eduardo Castillo, and the head of the Local Police, Víctor Sánchez, and the head of Atstates, Javier Portilla.
Casares has highlighted that these 300 drug test kits reinforce the work on detection of substances by the Local Police, which in 2024 carried out more than 800 tests, with 440 positives. “Shared effort and collaboration between administrations is the best way to strengthen road safety and prevention,” he said.
This delivery of kits is part of the collaboration agreements maintained by the DGT with the municipalities in which there are local police, to which it provides equipment and material to achieve greater effectiveness and guarantee road safety, such as vehicles, ethylmeters and radars.
The kits facilitate the possibility of detecting and supporting a positive for drugs, detecting up to five substances by means of a salivary sample that is subsequently analyzed in authorized laboratories, guaranteeing the chain of custody.
In addition, in order to prevent drivers who have consumed some psychotropic substance from travelling on the road network, the General Directorate of Traffic carries out several alcohol and drug surveillance campaigns in driving throughout the year, in which the local police of Santander actively collaborates, controlling this risk factor that increases the rate of incidence of accidents and the severity of them.
The penalty for driving with the presence of drugs in the body is 1,000 euros and the withdrawal of six points from the driving license. If the presence of drugs in the body influences the driving, it is transferred to the criminal highway and may carry a prison sentence of three to six months, a fine of 6 to 12 months or work for the benefit of the community of 31 to 90 days; and, in any case, deprivation of the right to drive motor vehicles one to four years.