The oral fluid roadside drug testing program at Guardia Civil, led by Sergeant Javier Muriel, is a comprehensive initiative aimed at detecting and removing drug-impaired drivers from the roads in Spain. Using SoToxa™ analysers, the program ensures quick and efficient testing, contributing to safer roads.

OVERVIEW

Some of the major challenges to introducing a roadside drug testing program is the scale of implementation, choosing the supporting technology and maintaining the program.

Listen to this interview with Sergeant Javier Muriel from Guardia Civil, a Spanish Police Force who has done just that and reduced the number of serious crash accident from 2011 to today. He will cover:

• An outline of their oral fluid roadside drug testing program
• Decision maker acceptance
• The benefits they have seen and how they demonstrate value to peers
• The evidence they see in helping to reduce Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID)
• Raising awareness of the issue and if active testing helps as a deterrent.

Presenter Biography

Sergeant Javier Muriel Cotrina
Guardia Civil Sergeant Muriel is the second Chief of the Bureau of Police Reports of the Operational Area at the Guardia Civil Traffic Department Directorate. Guardia Civil has been leading efforts on drug testing on the roadside to create a safer environment on roads.

Prior to his current role, Sergeant Muriel investigated crash accidents for eight years at Traffic Department of Guardia Civil and he has vast knowledge on roadside drug testing, its implementation, challenges and benefits. He has attended specialized training on drug detection and its consequences in road safety, risk prevention and traffic psychology. Sergeant Muriel has also worked with the Intervention Security Group for 10 years and served as Chief of the Bureau in the Provost Marshal Office, Military Police Department.

Dr. Suman Rana
Dr. Rana has worked extensively as a researcher, scientific and operations director with over 22 years experience in the field. She has led cross functional teams and provided leadership to high production toxicology laboratories. Her area of expertise includes analytical toxicology, alternate matrices and emerging designer drugs. She served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Forensic Toxicology (SOFT) for eight years and she was the President of SOFT in 2020. SOFT Designer Drugs Committee was incepted under her leadership. She is very active in forensic science standards development and has served on SWGTOX and the Toxicology Subcommittee of OSAC.

Dr. Rana is a contributing author in more than forty scientific papers/abstracts and has presented numerous times at national and international toxicology conferences. She has been an invited speaker on numerous occasions and has hosted many technical workshops and training sessions. She served on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Analytical Toxicology (JAT) and she was the guest editor for SOFT 2015 special issue of JAT. She is a reviewer for multiple scientific journals.

Dr. Rana is a member of the National Safety Council’s Alcohol, Drugs and Impairment Division, a Fellow with the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, member of the California Association of Toxicologists and The International Association of Forensic Toxicologists (TIAFT). She is also TIAFT Regional Representative for North America.