DRIVERS ON CANNABIS ARE PUT TO THE TEST

Drugs problem on the roads prompts official trials

Sixteen people have been chosen by the government to test drive cars
legally after smoking cannabis as part of the first research into the
impact of drug taking on motorists.

Their names and backgrounds are to be kept secret by the
transport

research laboratory at Bracknell, Berkshire, which is carrying out the
investigation on behalf of the deputy prime minister, John Prescott.

The laboratory would not say how the 16 had been chosen, but they are
being given cannabis, told to drive immediately afterwards, and then
tested on their reactions.

A source involved in the experiment said the guinea pigs had not been
chosen at random. "We know that drug taking is an increasing problem
on the roads, and we need evidence to show what impact it has on the
motorist." The results are expected to be published later this year.

The investigation follows surveys showing a large rise in the number
of fatal accident victims who had driven with drugs in their system.

The department of transport said the drugs in the tests were
being supplied under licence to the participants. The issuing was not
illegal because the 16 were taking part in a controlled scientific experiment.

The RAC is calling for a warning system on over-the-counter medicines
so consumers know which pose a driving hazard. A green rating would
mean the drug was safe. An amber sign would advise that it could have
a minor effect, while a red would signal severe adverse effects which
would dangerously impair driving.

An RAC survey showed that over a 12 month period 800,000 people had
been in a car in which the driver was high on cannabis, 280,000 in which the driver was on amphetamines, and 140,000 in which the driver
was on ecstasy, cocaine or heroin.

Edmund King, executive director of the RAC Foundation, said: "The
government has spent millions on effective campaigns addressing the
problems of drink-driving, and now is the time to highlight the
dangers of drugs and driving. It is alarming that drug-driving is
overtaking drink-driving as the biggest danger on our roads."

Rob Tunbridge, head of impairment studies at the transport research
laboratory, said: "All of the tests that have been done in other
countries suggest that cannabis has a completely different effect to
alcohol. Rather than giving you dutch courage and confidence, it
actually makes you much more cautious in your approach to driving.

That doesn't necessarily mean, of course, that it will improve your
driving."