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Praise for police festive drink driving campaigns

20 Jan 2012

The Road Safety Charity, Brake, has praised police for their drug and drink driving campaigns over the festive period but they also call on the Government to do more to address the problem of driving while impaired by substances of any type, something that remains a prevalent and widespread driving risk.

7,100 were arrested for drink driving during the campaign, an increase of 16% from the previous year but this increase was because more drivers were tested as the number that were over the legal alcohol limit actually dropped by 8%.

However, the number of Field Impairment Tests for drug driving increased by a third (36%), with 17% of these resulting in arrest. (Field Impairment Tests are based on an observation of impairment, rather than a biological test).

Drug driving is a common. Around 18% of people killed in road crashes have traces of illegal drugs in their blood, most often cannabis. Drivers under 25 years of age are nearly four times as likely to drive after taking illegal drugs as older drivers (11% compared to 3%).

Brake is calling on the government to make it easier to identify drink and drug drivers, and create a greater deterrent effect by:
  • using roadside drug testing kits and creating a new offence making it illegal to drive with illegal drugs in your system (as is the case for alcohol), removing the need to prove impairment
  • giving police powers for random breath-testing, to enable more tests to be conducted through targeted, high profile campaigns
  • making roads policing a national policing priority, giving frontline policing greater investment and human resources
The government has been field-testing the use of roadside drug testing kits but they are not yet available for routine use across the country. They are considering a need for legislative changes with regard to drug-driving but their position thus far has been conservative, having recently decided not to drop the drink driving limit despite a strong body of evidence in support of it.

Police forces have been cutting back on the resourcing of frontline roads policing, part of public spending cuts across the board.

With regard to the cost of car insurance, a drink driving conviction can  increase the premium by 85%.

Related article:
Call for drink driving warning on alcohol

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