DRUG-FREE DRIVERS

ONE FOR the road will soon be taking on new meaning as Prime Minister
Stephen Harper expands the crusade against drunk drivers to include
motorists on drugs.

While booze was once targeted the most for those getting behind the
wheel, curbing drug usage will soon become the subject of new federal
laws aimed at making Canada's highways safer for motorists and
pedestrians alike.

"Just as governments once took action on drunk driving, we must act
today to make drug-impaired driving just as socially unacceptable,"
Mr. Harper declared last week in Kitchener, Ont., as he promised to
introduce new laws to target drugged drivers. The prime minister said
the bill, expected to be tabled in the Commons next week, will provide
police with more tools to detect drug-impaired drivers.

Right now, it isn't as easy for law-enforcement officers to nab
drivers suspected of being on drugs as it is to detect motorists who
may have had one too many drinks before hitting the road. Procedures
and protocols have been developed over the years to determine whether
drivers are drunk, be it establishing strict blood levels measured by
accurate breathalysers or adhering to laws that have stood the test of
time in court hearings.

Mr. Harper admits there are "technological challenges" to be overcome
in terms of testing for certain kinds of drugs. In addition, police
officers face legal problems in arresting someone suspected of using
drugs. The latter shortcoming must be adequately addressed if the
proposed new laws are to help in apprehending drug-impaired drivers.

Any bill introduced in a minority Parliament faces a rough ride, and
runs the distinct risk of becoming part of the legislative logjam that
accompanies such a fractured House. Hopefully, however, Mr. Harper's
anti-drug-driving measures will be judged on their merits, and not get
bogged down in excessive partisan wrangling.