New device to be trialled at police stations within months
Police in England and Wales are soon to receive a new weapon in their armoury to combat drug-driving. The new hand-held device will test for drugs in a way similar to that of the breathalyser which tests for alcohol by measuring the quantity in a person’s breath. It is hoped that the new device, which will be introduced to all police forces over the course of the next two years, will be able to screen motorists suspected of being under the influence of a wide variety of illegal drugs.
Drugs that the devices will be able to detect include cocaine and ecstasy. Although they will initially be based in police stations, it is hoped that using the device at the road-side will mean fewer suspected drug-drivers will have to submit to a doctor taking a sample of their blood to be tested and possibly used as evidence in any prosecution. This will free up traffic officers’ time as they will no longer have to transport as many motorists back to their police station for the blood test.
Drug driving costing thousands of lives each year
Drug driving has long been a cause for concern amongst road safety campaigners and also those in government. In the past, studies have estimated that up to a quarter of all fatal road traffic accidents involved motorists who were under the influence of drugs – which given that 2,222 people lost their lives on Britain’s roads last year, could mean around 500 deaths are caused by drug-driving every year.
The new drug testing device is not the only change in policy as the government looks at ways to discourage drug driving behaviour. Tightening existing laws is one avenue that is being explored. Under current laws driving after taking drugs is only and offence if it can be proved that the person’s driving had been impaired by whatever substances were present in their bloodstream. It is thought that the law will be changed so that merely ‘having’ a banned substance in your blood will make you guilty of the offence.
It is worth pointing out that there might well be delays to these plans, as currently no drug testing device has yet to meet the requirements of the Home Office and the Department of Transport.
Drug driving accident compensation claims
If you have been involved in an accident and it wasn’t your fault, then Camps Solicitors can help you to claim road accident compensation – even if the other driver was uninsured or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Making your claim with Camps Solicitors is easy and our dedicated legal support team will be with you every step of the way to make sure that you can get on with the things that are really important to you after the accident whilst we get on with recovering your compensation.
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