Pubdate: Sat, 07 Oct 2006
Source: Independent  (UK)
Copyright: 2006 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.independent.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209
Author: Jason Bennetto
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?207 (Cannabis - United Kingdom)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?224 (Cannabis and Driving)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

MOTORISTS WHO TAKE DRUGS FACE 'ZERO-TOLERANCE' POLICY

A policy of "zero-tolerance" towards motorists who take drugs and 
drive is being considered by the Home Office.

Drivers caught with traces of drugs in their bodies, even if their 
driving is unaffected by the illegal substances, would be punished, 
under the tough proposals by police chiefs.

The controversial plans could mean that motorists who had taken drugs 
several days before they were tested will be penalised because many 
illegal substances, such as cannabis, remain in the blood stream for 
weeks. A recent survey revealed that one in seven motorists admits 
driving under the influence of illegal drugs. A quarter of drug users 
said they had driven after taking cannabis and 10 per cent after 
cocaine or ecstasy.

The Department for Transport has also found that almost a fifth of 
those killed on the roads in 2004 were driving with drugs in their 
system, compared with 3 per cent in 1989.

Meredydd Hughes, Chief Constable of South Yorkshire and spokesman for 
the Association of Chief Police Officers' on roads policing, said: 
"My start point is to say if you take drugs you can't drive a car. If 
you want to take illegal drugs, catch a bus."

The Acpo proposals are being discussed by the Home Office-led drink 
and drug driving working group, which includes representatives from 
the Department for Transport, the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.

At present, it is difficult to convict motorists of drug-driving 
because the police need evidence not just that the driver has taken 
drugs but that his or her driving has been impaired as a result. 
Officers have to use unreliable "field impairment tests", which 
assess mental and physical co-ordination, to decide whether a 
motorist is under the influence of drugs, before blood tests.

Mr Hughes said: "I want to remove the impairment element of the 
existing law so it becomes an offence to drive a motor vehicle on the 
road while under the influence of an illegal drug. It is a 
substantial change. It lays down a marker, saying if you take drugs 
you can't drive a car. That is my start point.

"We need to look at the retention levels of the drug in the body and 
a scale of penalties for different drugs. The use of a motor vehicle 
on a road is a privilege, not an absolute right. With illegal drugs, 
it is almost impossible to always identify the true scale of how 
drugs impair driving.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman