NEW YORK, April 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The requirement of large window toxicology screening for professional drivers with C, D and E class licenses just celebrated its second anniversary. As the first public policy for the prevention of drug use by drivers since the Brazilian Traffic Code entered into force, implementation of the exam is linked to the removal of more than 1 million professional drivers who are potential users of psychoactive drugs on roads and highways in the short period of 2 years.

The congress, entitled "The use of technology to promote road safety: Brazilian experience," occurred on Friday, April 27, at UN headquarters in New York. Taking part were: Mauro Vieira, Brazil's Ambassador to the UN; Márcio Liberbaum, President of the Institute for Safe Traffic Technologies (ITTS – Instituto de Tecnologias para o Trânsito Seguro); Federal Deputy Hugo Leal, President of the Parliamentary Front for the Defense of Traffic Safety (Frente Parlamentar em Defesa do Trânsito Seguro); Renato Dias, General Director of the Federal Highway Police; Maurício Alves, Director of the National Department of Transit (DENATRAN – Departamento Nacional de Trânsito); Paulo Douglas, Public Prosecutor for Labor; the Hon. Judge Nelson Calandra, President of the Association of Brazilian Magistrates (Associação dos Magistrados Brasileiros – 2011-2013); jurist Marcus Vinícius Furtado Coelho, President of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB – Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil – 2013-2016); as well as institutions representing traffic victims. The congress will be concluded with an address by former President of the Republic, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, who chaired the UN's Global Commission on Drug Policy.

The purpose of the event was to present a panel of objective results relating to the drop in the number of accidents, fatalities and injuries on Brazilian highways during the first 24 months that the law has been in force.

At the event, specialists and officials showed how, through the use of this exam, Brazil managed to implement a public health and safety policy that has contributed to a 38% drop in the number of accidents involving trucks on federal highways in just the first six months of the requirement, according to Federal Highway Police data.

ITTS President Márcio Liberbaum had this to add: "We will not rest until we have transformed our highways into safe places for us and our families."

Former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso underscored the importance of the meeting to publicize the new legislation. "We must continue to move forward in this process of modernization. What we are seeing is the implementation of a policy based on technological advances that ensure the public's health and safety," he noted.

SOURCE ITTS