MOTORISTS FACE DRUG TRAP

LAWS are to be toughened to crack down on driving under the influence of drugs.

Police will also get special training to recognise signs of drugs after a
big rise in fatal crashes, the Government said yesterday.

And the British Medical Association called for more research into
developing new drug-testing machines.

It is already an offence to drive while unfit due to drugs -- but unlike
alcohol there are no set limits.

A Department of Transport spokeswoman said: "If a person is suspected of
taking drugs and driving it is very difficult to prove it."

Between 1985 and 1999 the percentage of people in fatal crashes who tested
positive for cannabis QUADRUPLED from 3 per cent to 12 per cent.

And doctors warned legal drugs like cough mixtures and painkillers can also
effect the ability to drive.

BMA head of science and ethics Dr Vivienne Nathanson said: "People probably
have no idea about the effects of drugs."

Mum Jane Boyd, 39, was found guilty last year of crashing her car in
Southampton while high on heroin and killing daughter Kelly, 10. She got a
suspended jail sentence.