Road safety group calls for drug driver action

A safety group is calling for more action to be taken on drug driving.

The call comes after a survey by the Department of Transport found that nearly two thirds of people feel that drug driving laws are not being properly enforced.

The National Travel Attitudes Survey found that 63% of respondents agreed that ‘the laws on driving whilst impaired by illegal or legal drugs, are not properly enforced’.

The survey also revealed that 60% of people agree that ‘the number of people driving whilst impaired by illegal or legal drugs has increased in the last five years’.

The most recent statistics show the number of fatal and serious crashes with a contributory factor of “driver/rider impaired by illicit or medicinal drugs” increased by 8% from 2017 to 2017, up from 447 to 484 incidents.

Road safety charity Brake believe that these views are a consequence of a decline in police numbers over recent years and a lack of Government approved roadside drug testing devices.

Currently, the only drugs that can be tested for at the roadside are cannabis and cocaine.

Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for Brake, said: “It is vital that both the law and our enforcement ability is effective in catching, punishing and deterring this dangerous behaviour.

“More Government approved roadside drug testing devices are desperately needed.

“At the moment, just two of the drugs listed as illegal under the law - cannabis and cocaine - can be tested for a clear gap in enforcement that must be filled.”