TRUMP ELECTION BID REJECTED BY COURT
Drink and drug driving rises by 45%
The US Supreme Court has rejected a lawsuit backed by president Donald Trump to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory.
Trump had cal led the lawsuit filed by Texas against G e o r g i a , Mi c h i g a n , Pennsylvania and Wisconsin “the big one” .
He believed it would end with the Supreme Court undoing Biden’s substantial Electoral College majority and allow him to serve another four years in the White House.
In a brief order, the Supreme Court said Texas does not have the legal right to sue those states as it “has not demonstrated a judicially cognisable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections”.
Eighteen other states won by Trump in last month’s election, 126 Republican members of Congress and
Trump himself joined Texas in calling on the justices to take up the case that sought to stop electors from casting their votes for Biden.
The four states sued by Texas had urged the court to reject the case as meritless.
They were backed by another 22 states and the District of Columbia.
The Electoral Col lege meets tomorrow to formally elect Biden as president.
Jennifer Hyland
Drink and drug driving has soared by almost 50 per cent during the pandemic due to a rise in home drinking.
Despite lockdown, t ier restrictions and pubs and restaurants being shut, figures released by Police Scotland have revealed a shocking increase in offenders.
Between April and September, of f icers dealt w ith 4501 incidents of people being unfit to drive through drink or drugs.
That is a rise of 45 per cent on the figure from the same sixmonth period last year when 3102 drivers were detained.
The rise is being attributed to drivers being over the limit the next morning after drinking sessions at home, as well as additional policing on the roads during the Covid-19 lockdown.
Super intendent Simon Bradshaw, from Police Scotland’s road policing division, said: “The lockdown period provided more opportunities for proactive road policing, with officers detecting a higher number of drink and drug drivers compared to previous years.
“With pubs and restaurants closed, more people will have been drinking at home and could still have been over the limit the following morning. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs significantly increases your chance of being involved in a collision and, as we move further into the festive period, we urge drivers to take personal responsibility and ensure they are fit to be on the road.
“Police Scotland will continue to prioritise the safety of all road users and officers will be patrolling our roads to detect those putting others at risk by driving under the influence of drink or drugs.”
Charles Pease, whose partner Theresa Wade was killed by a drunk driver on the Isle of Mull in October 2015, told of his dismay at the statistics. He said: “The persistence of people drinking and driving is outrageous, not least because they jeopardise their own lives, the welfare of others and not to mention their own families.
“The increase in figures is beyond words. I can only surmise people don’t regard penalties as severe enough.”
Vet Theresa, 29, died when a high-powered Maserati being driven on the wrong side of the road by Thomas Wainwright crashed into her van on the A849 near Craignure. He was jailed for 12 years and banned for 15 years after a trial in 2017.
Charles, 65, called for tougher penalties for drink drivers. He added: “If people are going to treat drink driving as a joke, the penalties must be increased and the punishment made much more severe.
“Getting behind the wheel after drinking too much is an insult to our hard-working medical professionals already dealing with the existing crisis.
“Some people still think they are above the law. With the increase in figures, it’s clear the message still isn’t getting through. There needs to be tougher penalties and the courts need to come down on these people hard.”
Following a change in the law in October 2019, police are able to carry out immediate tests using mouth swabs for any motorist they suspect of drug driving.
Police Scotland launched its fest ive d r ink and drug driving campaign last month.
During last year’s festive crackdown, of f icers tested 8687 motor ists between December 1 and January 2, with 580 – one in 15 – found to be breaking the law. A total of 29 drivers were caught the morning after drinking, Police Scotland said.
Officers also carried out 480 roadside drug tests, with 185 testing positive.
In 2018, pol ice breathalysed 8632 dr ivers, with 565 people – again, one in 15 motorists – caught for drink and drug driving offences.
A spokesman for safety charity IAM RoadSma r t sa id: “The i ncrease i n d r ink d r iv ing in Scotland is shocking.
“IAM RoadSmart believes it is partly down to the police using the new drug-drive laws but it’s also clear that the levels of drink driving have been far too high during lockdown.”