  The number of z ~ 1 damped Lyman alpha systems (DLAs, log N(HI) >= 20.3) per
unit redshift is approximately 0.1, making them relatively rare objects. Large,
blind QSO surveys for low redshift DLAs are therefore an expensive prospect for
space-borne UV telescopes. Increasing the efficiency of these surveys by
pre-selecting DLA candidates based on the equivalent widths of metal absorption
lines has previously been a successful strategy. However, the success rate of
DLA identification is still only ~ 35% when simple equivalent width cut-offs
are applied, the majority of systems having 19.0 < log N(HI)<20.3. Here we
propose a new way to pre-select DLA candidates. Our technique requires
high-to-moderate resolution spectroscopy of the MgII 2796 transition, which is
easily accessible from the ground for 0.2 < z < 2.4. We define the D-index, the
ratio of the line's equivalent width to velocity spread and measure this
quantity for 19 DLAs and 8 sub-DLAs in archival spectra obtained with echelle
spectrographs. For the majority of absorbers, there is a clear distinction
between the D-index of DLAs compared with sub-DLAs (Kolmogorov-Smirnov
probability = 0.8%). Based on this pilot data sample, we find that the D-index
can select DLAs with a success rate of up to 90%, an increase in selection
efficiency by a factor of 2.5 compared with a simple equivalent width cut. We
test the applicability of the D-index at lower resolution and find that it
remains a good discriminant of DLAs for FWHM < 1.5 A. However, the recommended
D-index cut-off between DLAs and sub-DLAs decreases with poorer resolution and
we tabulate the appropriate D-index values that should be used with spectra of
different resolutions.
