Saliva testFrance
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337. Saliva test
A saliva test is a roadside screening test used to detect recent use of certain drugs that can affect driving ability. A sample of saliva is collected from the mouth and tested with a portable device for specified substances. The test is generally used as an initial screening rather than as the final evidential analysis. If the result is positive, a more precise saliva analysis or, in some circumstances, a blood test may follow.
Wikimedia.org • Zapacit • CC BY-SA
What is a saliva test?
A roadside oral-fluid test screens for specified drugs or related substances in a saliva sample. What it detects and how the result may be used depend on the test and local law. A screening result does not by itself establish exactly when a substance was used or how impaired the driver is.
🔗 wegcode.be • Belgium, Road Traffic Act, Articles 59, 61bis, 62ter and 63; Belgian procedures
🔗 wegcode.be • Belgium, Royal Decree of 27 November 2015, saliva/blood sampling and laboratories
🔗 gov.uk • GOV.UK, drugs and driving law; GB example
🔗 gov.uk • Great Britain Highway Code, Rules 95–96, impairment; national guidance example
How is a roadside saliva test performed?
A sample of saliva is collected from inside the mouth and tested using an approved portable device. The exact procedure and substances tested depend on the country.
🔗 wegcode.be • Belgium, Road Traffic Act, Articles 59, 61bis, 62ter and 63; Belgian procedures
🔗 wegcode.be • Belgium, Royal Decree of 27 November 2015, saliva/blood sampling and laboratories
🔗 gov.uk • GOV.UK, drugs and driving law; GB example
🔗 gov.uk • Great Britain Highway Code, Rules 95–96, impairment; national guidance example
Is a saliva test the same as a saliva analysis?
In systems such as Belgium’s, a preliminary saliva screen is followed, where required, by a separate laboratory analysis under approved procedures. Terminology and evidential rules vary; the word test alone does not establish whether a result is only a screen or a legally accepted measurement.
🔗 wegcode.be • Belgium, Road Traffic Act, Articles 59, 61bis, 62ter and 63; Belgian procedures
🔗 wegcode.be • Belgium, Royal Decree of 27 November 2015, saliva/blood sampling and laboratories
🔗 gov.uk • GOV.UK, drugs and driving law; GB example
🔗 gov.uk • Great Britain Highway Code, Rules 95–96, impairment; national guidance example

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France