Dominican Republic to reintroduce breathalyzer tests to enhance road safety

Santo Domingo.- The National Institute of Transit and Land Transportation (Intrant) and the General Directorate of Transit and Land Transportation Safety (Digesett) will reinstate the use of breathalyzers to improve road safety by regulating drivers under the influence of alcohol. A group of 40 Digesett agents will be trained by an international expert to use the Alco-Sensor VXL, Point of Arrest, and Alco-Sensor FST devices to measure blood alcohol levels.

Intrant’s executive director, Milton Morrison, highlighted that this initiative aims to prevent traffic accidents and save lives. It coincides with discussions for a National Road Safety Plan, led by President Luis Abinader.

The pilot program will start on Friday, October 25, in the National District, from 9:00 p.m. to 4:00 a.m. This initiative is a public-private partnership with the alcohol industry, the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD), and the Dominican Institute for Quality (Indocal), which will ensure the calibration of the equipment. Eight evidential and 32 screening breathalyzers will be used, originally donated in 2018 but halted in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Breathalyzer checkpoints will conduct random tests under Dominican law, allowing drivers with positive results to be monitored for up to four hours unless a responsible person escorts them home.

In the Dominican Republic, the legal alcohol limit for drivers is 0.25 milligrams per liter (mg/l) of exhaled air. However, for public transport drivers, the alcohol content must be 0.0 mg/l.

The amount of alcohol you can drink without exceeding the legal limit depends on your weight and gender:
– A 70 kg man needs to drink approximately 1.5 glasses of beer or 2 glasses of wine on an empty stomach to reach 0.25 mg/l of alcohol.
– A 60 kg woman needs to drink about 1 glass of beer or 1.5 glasses of wine on an empty stomach to reach 0.25 mg/l of alcohol.