Appeal for action over drug-drivers

THE GOVERNMENT is being urged to tackle the growing problem of "drug driving" through a big education programme. Illegal drug-takers now account for one in five of all motoring deaths in Britain, a team of 11 medical experts commissioned by the Automobile Association says.

Figures show that in 16 per cent of motoring deaths in Britain, traces of illegal drugs were found. In 75 per cent of those deaths, cannabis was found in the person's bloodstream.

But most people driving under the influence of illegal and legal drugs do not know they are breaking the law, the experts say today in a discussion paper, which goes on to point out that it costs police pounds 350 to do the necessary tests to prosecute a driver believed to be under the influence of drugs.

The panel wants the departments of health and transport and the Home Office to re- examine their policies on accidents where people are found to have been influenced by drugs.