PM pledges action on drug driving

12.00 | 19 January 2012 |

David Cameron, the prime minister, has pledged to introduce legislation within 18 months that would make it easier for police to prosecute drug drivers, according to the Daily Mail.

Earlier this month ministers set up an expert panel to consider the scientific case for a new criminal offence of driving a car shortly after taking an illegal drug.

According to the Daily Mail, road safety organisations say the laws relating to drug driving need to be changed to bring them into line with drink driving, where simply having a certain amount of alcohol in the blood is an offence.

The expert panel is looking at the effect of individual drugs on drivers and whether it would be possible to set legal ‘drug limits’. Mr Cameron said there was ‘great strength’ in demands for an equivalent law to that for drink driving.

The Home Office has held trials of drug screening technology – ‘drugalysers’ – which Mr Cameron says will be available for use in police stations as soon as possible; however, the charity Brake wants to see them used on the roadside as breathalysers are.

According to Brake, One in nine motorists aged 17 to 24 has driven after taking drugs, while 3% do so every month.

Click here to read the full Daily Mail report.

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