UK Police Trial World's First Nitrous Oxide Breathalyzer

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and Thames Valley Police have begun trialing the world's first roadside breathalyzer for detecting nitrous oxide use in drivers, targeting an emerging safety threat on roads in southern England.

The portable device, developed by Respira Technologies based on research at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, requires a driver to breathe into it for a result within minutes. It can identify nitrous oxide inhalation for up to two hours afterward, filling a previous gap where prosecutions relied on video evidence or visible signs like balloons. The joint roads policing unit of the two forces secured funding through the National Police Chiefs' Council Science and Innovation Board for the tests, which are underway near locations such as the A31 by Winchester.

Officials described driving under the influence of the Class C drug, also known as laughing gas or NOS, as a growing danger, particularly among young drivers. A police spokesman stated, "Driving under the influence of nitrous oxide is an emerging threat to the safety of motorists on our roads. Its use can cause unconsciousness and even neurological damage or death from suffocation of the oxygen...