LTO eyes more breath analyzers vs drunk, drugged driving

MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office is seeking approval for the procurement of more breath analyzers as part of strict law enforcement aimed at ensuring the safety of all road users, LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said yesterday.

The full implementation of the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013 should start at the soonest possible time amid cases of road accidents involving drunk motorists, according to Mendoza.

“We have an existing Philippine Road Safety Action Plan that is being actively pushed by our Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, and the strict enforcement of the Anti-Drunk and Drugged Driving Act of 2013 and the Road Speed Limiter Act of 2016 are part of this plan,” he said.

He added that the LTO is waiting for the final assessment on what remained of the 756 units of breath analyzers that were procured in 2015 and 2017.

“To ensure effective enforcement, we have to download as many breath analyzers that could be used by traffic and law enforcers on the ground,” Mendoza said.

The LTO chief has ordered a review on the procured breath analyzers over reports that they are no longer usable.

He noted that based on the initial assessment, only 288 of the 756 units could be fixed and recalibrated.

“Our focus right now is to really fix the purchased breath analyzers, because what is important is to redistribute them to our personnel on the ground for the strict implementation of the anti-drunk and drugged driving law,” Mendoza said.

He added that part of the assessment is an analysis of the practicality of buying new breath analyzers instead of having the existing ones fixed and recalibrated.