Drug driver testing kits on trial in UK

Tests of a new drug testing kit are now being carried out by the police. A number of parallel trials are being carried out of the kits, which can detect a number of illegal drugs. The kits are manufactured in the UK and are already supplied to police forces in Australia and Italy, where they have been used successfully for some time. Should the UK trials prove successful the kits will be introduced across the country during early 2012.
April 20, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
RSSTests of a new drug testing kit are now being carried out by the police. A number of parallel trials are being carried out of the kits, which can detect a number of illegal drugs. The kits are manufactured in the UK and are already supplied to police forces in Australia and Italy, where they have been used successfully for some time. Should the UK trials prove successful the kits will be introduced across the country during early 2012.

At present UK police forces have to carry out physical ability and aptitude tests on drivers suspected of being under the influence of drugs, such as asking them to balance on one foot. However kits for testing whether drivers are under the influence of alcohol have been in use for over 30 years. Studies in the UK have suggested that up to 10% of drivers aged from 18-29 may be under the influence of illegal drugs while at the wheel, with similar results being reported across Europe and North America.

A new report says that around 1.2 million drivers in the UK may have driven under the influence of drugs, some 35% with cannabis and 15% with cocaine. There is concern that the safety focus on speed by installing speed cameras has reduced the numbers of police patrolling the roads and has led to a subsequent increase in the number of people driving under the influence of drugs.
Enforcement

Related Content

  • August 12, 2015
    Dynamic Message Signs : Don’t replace, refurbish and upgrade
    Refurbishing old dynamic message signs can save money and increase technical capabilities as David Crawford discovers. Evidence is growing on both sides of the Atlantic of the scope for retrofitting old or technically out-of-date dynamic message signs (DMS) with new electronic equipment, to save on the costs of installing full-scale replacements. In the last four months of 2014, a number of US states progressed programmes that achieved savings of more than US$1.75 million (€1.56million).
    Read More
  • January 30, 2012
    In-vehicle systems as enforcement enablers?
    From an enforcement perspective at least, Toyota's recent recalls over problems with accelerator pedal assemblies had a positive outcome in that for the first time a major motor manufacturer outside of the US acknowledged publicly what many have known or suspected for quite a while: that the capability exists within certain car companies to extract data from a vehicle onboard unit which can be used to help ascertain, if not prove outright, just what was happening in the vital seconds up to an accident or cr
    Read More
  • February 2, 2012
    Need for balance on UK speed enforcement funding cuts
    Trevor Ellis, Chairman of the ITS UK Enforcement Interest Group, considers the implications of the UK Government's decision to withdraw funding for road safety camera partnerships
    Read More
  • July 17, 2012
    ITS technology reduces congestion, improves workzone safety
    As the road-building season gets under way in the US, the Federal Highway Administration has just published a White Paper which deals with the use of ITS technology in work zones. On 30 April 2009, the US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a White Paper which was prepared by the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) to inform public agencies about the use of ITS to manage construction work zones. This is a particularly relevant topic given the large number of construction projects that are ex
    Read More

Highlighted Content