DRUGS AS DANGEROUS AS DRINK ON THE ROAD

DOCTORS' leaders called for urgent action yesterday to combat the threat
from drivers who are under the influence of drugs.

Both illicit drugs and commonly used medicines could affect a person's
ability to drive safely in the same way as alcohol, said the British
Medical Association.

It is calling on the government and the Scottish Parliament to speed up
research into drug testing devices for use in road traffic settings, and to
embark on a public education and awareness campaign.

The number of people in-volved in fatal road accidents who tested positive
for cannabis had increased fourfold - from 3% to 12% - between the 1980s
and 1990s, with detection of illegal drugs overall increasing from 3% to
18%, the BMA said.

The organisation warned that this number could rise, given the increasing
use of drugs, citing a drug misuse statistics report for last year
indicating that 36% of 16 to 24-year-olds in Scotland said that they had
taken drugs.

In a separate Scottish Executive survey of clubbers, 69% had taken cannabis
and 85% of these had at some time driven after using illegal drugs.
However, not only illicit drug users were a hazard.

"Millions of people regularly take drugs such as anti-depressants,
painkillers, antihistamines and cough mixtures, all of which can have a
sedative effect," said Bill O'Neill, Scottish secretary of the BMA.

"However, a balance needs to be struck between the symptoms of an illness
and the risk of the effects of taking medication. For example, the sedative
risk of antihistamines needs to be balanced against the risks of driving
with watering eyes and sneezing. When in doubt, advice should be sought."

Assessing the effects of drugs on driving ability would have to take
account of levels of drugs in the body, degrees of impairment and how long
a drug remained in the body. So also would the added effects of alcohol
when the two were combined.

The BMA said cannabis - the most frequently detected illicit drug in road
deaths - was known to impair co-ordination, visual perception, tracking and
vigilance. Yet findings relating the effects of cannaboids on driving
skills and road safety were not conclusive.

The fact that cannabis could be found in the blood as long as 28 days or
even longer after last use demonstrated how difficult it would be to
predict that the driver's ability was adversely affected by the drug.

Dr O'Neill said: "People generally accept that you shouldn't drink and
drive, but probably have no idea about the effects of drugs on their
driving ability.

"Driving while unfit under the influence of drugs is an offence and a
driver faces the same penalties as those who drive under the influence of
alcohol."

However, the law did not state any legal limit for drugs as it does for
alcohol. It was very difficult to enforce legislation, as there were no
drug testing devices that could effectively prove driving impairment due to
drugs, the BMA said.

John Rankin, a member of the BMA's Scottish GP committee and a police
surgeon in the Forth valley area, said: "We are seeing an increase in
drug-driving incidents in Scotland. Roadside testing is being piloted in
this area where the driver has to complete a number of simple tests to
ascertain if they are under the influence of drugs. These tests are not
conclusive."

The executive said the BMA was right to highlight drug-driving as a
worrying problem. It has made £350,000 extra available to the police over
the next three years to allow them to analyse more drug samples from drivers.

"In addition, the Home Office is currently developing a drug equivalent to
the breathalyser."

The drug tester may be in the development stages, but scientists yesterday
day unveiled a new gadget designed to alert drivers when they have had too
much to drink.

The in-car device monitors drivers' hand-eye co-ordination to keep a check
on their alertness to see if they are fit to be at the wheel.