One in Five Admit Driving Under the
Influence of Drugs.
By Dr. Fourkan Ali
A recent survey has stated as many as one in five drivers has driven under the influence of drugs.
Drug Driving.
The study conducted by confused.com found that
nearly one in five motorists had driven under the influence of illegal or
prescription drugs. However the number of people being convicted for such
offences has dropped. 7% of the 2,000 motorists who took part in the survey
admitted getting behind the wheel after using cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine.
The figures come as MP’s at Westminster are considering brining in new measure
to tackle drug driving and introduce punishments to deter people from taking a
chance.
Around 12% of those who admitted to taking
drugs before driving were on a substance that had been prescribed by a doctor.
This type of medication, such as painkillers or anti-biotics, can cause an
individual to feel drowsy and puts their life and other drivers at risk. Of
this 12% more than half admitted to not properly reading the instructions for
consumption to check if it was safe to drive before getting into the car.
Legislative Change.
The Westminster government are planning to
crack down on drug driving offences as early as next year with plans to
introduce a large fines and even possible prison sentences for offenders. The
legislation will aim to save thousands of lives on the roads rather than seek
to punish drivers.
Roadside tests to measure the exact amount of
a substance found in an individual is becoming more common in the UK. Police
will now be able to measure the exact level of a drug in a drivers system
through a range of simple tests.
Ministers said the legislation would remove
the difficulty of proving a driver was impaired by drugs, which is the case at
the moment. The government proposes including eight illegal drugs – cannabis,
ecstasy, cocaine, ketamine, benzoylecgonine (the primary metabolite of
cocaine), methamphetamine, LSD and 6-monoacetylmorphine (heroin and
diamorphine), for which allowable limits would be set very low.
This system would reflect the one in place to
tackle drunk driving whereby a driver may be allowed to ingest a small amount
of a drug and not break the law of the roads. Changes to legislation are
expected to take place as early next year in England and Wales.
Sources: website
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