STOP THIS MADNESS
Hippy crack roads menace
CAMPAIGNERS want new laws to halt the growing craze of drivers taking hippy crack.
Photos of idiots at the wheel inhaling laughing gas from balloons have been shared on the internet.
Some appeared to be off their faces on nitrous oxide, which can cause dizziness and uncontrolled giggling.
One social media user said the practice was becoming more and more common in Tower Hamlets, east London.
And in shocking footage shot by a cyclist in central London last month, a motorist is seen clutching a balloon in a gold Mercedes near Hyde Park.
Mike Van Erp, who captured it on his helmet cam, can be heard asking the driver why he is doing it – only for the man to shrug and drive off.
Mike, 50, a Youtuber known as Cyclingmikey, said: “I’m strongly against the use of any drugs when driving because of the danger impaired driving puts on innocent people.
“My dad was killed on his motorcycle by a drunk driver when I was 19.”
He and others want a change in the law so those caught with nitrous oxide at the wheel can be prosecuted.
At the moment, possession is not a crime unless it is with intention to supply for recreational use. Those caught driving while high can be fined or jailed but the Campaign Against Drink Driving says the gas is not easy to detect, partly as it leaves the system quickly.
Spokesman John Scruby said: “Photographs have appeared online of drivers inhaling the gas, usually by filling a balloon and inhaling it.
“It’s quite shocking and we support any procedure or campaign to rid drink and drug drivers from our streets.”
Nitrous oxide is hugely popular among teens and under-30s because it is cheap and legal for over-18s to buy.
Users typically inhale it from balloons filled from silver canisters, which are legitimately sold for catering and medical purposes. Long-term abuse can cause brain damage and there were 56 registered deaths involving it between 2001 and 2020 in England and Wales.
Mr Scruby, a former South Yorkshire traffic cop, believes the key to tackling the issue is educating young drivers.
He added: “Changing the attitudes of some in this age group is challenging but not impossible.”
Last month Bradford Crown Court heard how banned and uninsured driver Zamir Shah, 27, had inhaled nitrous oxide shortly before crashing in 2021.
His 18-year-old passenger was left with fractures to her ribs, spine and arm.
Shah pleaded guilty to causing serious
injury by dangerous driving and was sentenced to 42 months in prison. Judge Richard Mansell KC criticised Shah’s “appalling incident of mindless stupidity,” adding: “Nobody should be inhaling this stuff whilst driving…as it makes users disinhibited.”
In June Labour councillor Nazam Azam said he had seen a lot more drivers taking hippy crack in Bradford. “I’m seeing people openly driving on our roads while inhaling from balloons in their mouths,” he said.
In January a gangster admitted killing a woman in a hit-and-run while high on nitrous oxide.
Stephen Dunford sped through a red light and hit Naomi Colcomb, 28, in Sheffield in October 2018.
He was sentenced to six years at Sheffield Crown Court.
When he was convicted, Dunford, 27, was already serving life with a minimum of 19 years in 2020 for seriously injuring a boy of 12 during a drive-by shooting.
A survey showed half a million people aged 16 to 24 had used hippy crack in 2019 and 2020. One expert said: “It doesn’t cause many deaths which is why some think it’s safe but it often causes serious brain damage. It’s seen as low risk but it isn’t – one bad hit and it’s instant death.”