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UK: Drugs 'overtake drink' as danger for drivers David Williams This Is London Thursday 05 Jul 2001 The soaring road death toll among drug-abusers is seriously undermining advances made by the campaign against drink-driving, doctors have warned. Motorists are largely ignorant of the potentially lethal effects even a small quantity of soft drugs like cannabis can have on their judgment, the British Medical Association's conference at Bournemouth was told. Doctors warned that, while it was easy to set a legal limit for drink-driving, it was much harder to prove at what point people's judgment was impaired by illicit drugs. Research published last year found the number of road crash victims who had tested positive for illegal drugs had risen sixfold in the past decade. One in five people killed on UK roads now have traces of drugs in their system, the research confirmed. Dr Michael Wilks, chairman of the BMA's ethics committee, said: "I work as a police surgeon and see increasing numbers of people arrested for drugs. "The assumption that it is safe to drive having taken a bit of cannabis or cocaine is erroneous, particularly cannabis because it has serious effects on judgment and reaction times." Increasing drug taking in recent years was adding to the problem at a time when drink-driving had become less socially acceptable, he said. Dr Wilks added: "We have got clear evidence in relation to alcohol and what the legal limit should be, whereas with cannabis or cocaine it is hard to stipulate when a certain amount has caused unfitness. "Death on the roads from drug-driving is becoming an important issue. As drink-driving rates come down, it will become a very important issue." Police in Scotland are piloting a roadside test to determine if people are unfit to drive because of drugs, and last year UK police began using bizarre "drug-impairment tests" as revealed by the Evening Standard. They involve making suspected drug-drivers walk in a straight line with their eyes closed and asking them to balance while standing on one leg. Scottish secretary of the BMA, Dr Bill O'Neill, warned against "Draconian" new laws which could stop people on legally-prescribed medicines from driving. He said: "It is very difficult to prove when fitness and impairment is caused by drugs. "Individuals react differently to the same dosage. If you start bringing in Draconian laws, you could also affect people coming for treatment. "Who would you rather have behind the wheel - someone on a hayfever medicine which could make them slightly drowsy, or someone not on the drug but with red eyes and running nose whose judgment may also be impaired?" Today the RAC Foundation said the Government should urgently launch a campaign highlighting the dangers of drug-driving. "Unfortunately, drug-driving does not yet have the same social stigma as drink-driving," said executive director Edmund King. "But our research shows that young drivers are twice as likely to have been driven by someone high on illicit drugs than by someone who is over the drink-drive limit. "In Scotland, they are putting £180,000 into a drug-driving awareness campaign; here, the Government is lagging seriously behind."
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