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ITV Tonight programme investigates drug-driving – and finds cannabis could fuel car accidents (15 November 2013)

Date: 15/11/2013
Duncan Lewis, Personal Injury Solicitors, ITV Tonight programme investigates drug-driving – and finds cannabis could fuel car accidents

An investigation into drug driving by ITV reporters for the Tonight programme shown on Thursday (14/11/13) has found that smoking cannabis before driving can affect spatial awareness and even make drivers react more aggressively behind the wheel.

The Tonight team set up a test in Holland and asked two drivers to smoke one joint of cannabis before undergoing a standard test course with an instructor. One of the volunteers said they smoked one joint a month and the other had never smoked cannabis.

The two volunteers found they had difficulty following basic instructions when they got behind the wheel of a car and the cannabis user hit several of the traffic cones on the test course while manoeuvring. After the test she said her reactions such as stopping the car seemed to take much longer than when she normally drove a car.

The Home Office in Britain is hoping to introduce roadside testing for drug driving in 2014 – although Chief Constable Suzette Davenport told ITV reporter Martin Geissler that 2015 would be the more likely start of drug driving roadside tests. Police forces will be issued with drug driving test kits which the Home Office says have already been approved.

While motorists are used to being tested for drink driving, drug driving is uncharted territory, with police officers using their own discretion to assess whether a motorist who may be driving erratically or who has been involved in a road traffic accident is under the influence of drugs. The Tonight programme found that one in nine young adults questioned admitted to driving under the influence of drugs in the last year, including using cannabis or cocaine before getting behind the wheel.

The ITV researchers also visited Hamburg in Germany where local police demonstrated the drug driving test kits used for roadside testing of urine and also oral testing, similar to the breathalyser used in the UK to test for drink driving.

Other tests such as asking a driver to close their eyes and count to 30 are used in both the UK and Germany for assessing whether a motorist is fit to drive or under the influence of drink or drugs.

In Germany, police confiscate 30,000 driving licences every year for drug driving offences, the Tonight programme revealed. In the UK, the number is less than a handful.

New Labour declassified cannabis from a Class B drug to a Class C drug – although the reclassification was later changed back to Class B over fears cannabis was linked to mental health issues.

Online sources say the Home Office will use an oral swab kit to test for drug drivers – the Draeger Safety UK’s Draeger DrugTest 5000 – which can detect a range of different drugs.

The breathalyser test for drink driving was introduced in the UK 40 years ago – and most motorists are aware of the implications of drinking and driving, but once under the influence of alcohol may become less conscious of the issues.

However, RTAs are now among the most common reason for Britons making personal injury claims in the UK – as well as abroad, as a result of holiday car accidents.

Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors can advise on making personal injury claims for injuries sustained in a road traffic accidents caused by another person – including injuries sustained if the driver of a car you were a passenger in was negligent or driving under the influence (DUI).

Contact Duncan Lewis personal injury lawyers on 020 9723 4020.


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