COLOMBO, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan police introduced a new mouth swab test from Saturday to detect drivers under the influence of drugs, as part of efforts to curb road accidents linked to impaired driving, a senior police officer said.

File photo: AFP

Deputy Inspector General of Traffic Control and Road Safety W. P. J. Senadeera said the mouth swab test can detect 12 types of drugs, allowing officers to quickly identify drug-impaired drivers and, where necessary, produce them before a judicial medical officer for further examination.

He said the test will be rolled out initially as a pilot project in selected divisions in Colombo, with plans to expand it nationwide.

Road accidents remain a major public safety concern in Sri Lanka. Official data show that 2,583 fatal road accidents were recorded in 2025.