Brakes call for zero tolerance

ROAD safety charity Brake is calling on the Scottish government to introduce a zero-tolerance policy for drug driving on the nation’s roads. Back in2014, Scotland led the way by introducing a lower limit than the rest of the UK, for drink-driving of 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The rest of the UK retains 80mg limit – higher than all other EU countries except Malta - and Brake believes it’s now time to introduce a similar drug driving law. The latest available UK figures, from 2015, show that 62 fatal crashes were a result of impairment by illicit drugs and iIn a survey last year by Brake and Direct Line, some seven per cent of respondents admitted to driving while under the influence of drugs, with over half doing so on a weekly basis. In 2015, England and Wales introduced a zero tolerance drug driving ban, making it an offence to drive with certain controlled drugs, but this law does not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland.