Drug driving legislation outdated – The AA
The AA is urging the government to update drug driving legislation in the UK when it introduces the Crime and Policing Bill later this week.
It is partnering with D.tec International, which supplies all 43 police forces in the UK with the roadside drug driver screening device DrugWipe, to lobby government to introduce reforms closing loopholes allowing drug drivers to evade justice.
This includes roadside saliva testing, which could negate the need for time-consuming blood samples.
As it stands now, police officers must obtain an evidential blood sample from a driver testing positive on the roadside. However, results from these tests can take more than six months to be returned, which is the legal deadline for police to charge someone for road traffic offences.
With the government introducing the Crime and Policing Bill in Parliament this week, the AA believes now is the time to update drug driving legislation.
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for The AA, said:
“Drug driving is fast becoming a major road safety concern which needs urgent action. Modernising the prosecution process can help take more dangerous drivers off the road, while keeping costs down for police forces. Similarly, just one in 10 believe that drug drivers will be caught and prosecuted which often means people feel they can get away with it.
“Hiring 1,000 more roads police, as well as allowing saliva samples as evidence will stop people getting behind the wheel after taking illegal substances.”
Outdated laws
Ean Lewin, managing director of D.tec International, added: “For over a decade, we have allowed a broken system to keep drug drivers on our roads while victims and their families continue to suffer. Right now, a driver who fails a roadside drug test can legally remain behind the wheel for up to six months – and if they plead not guilty, potentially for over a year.
“This is solely because outdated laws force police to rely on impractical blood confirmation testing, plagued by inherent laboratory delays. Worse still, an unknown number of offenders escape justice entirely when these delays exceed the six-month prosecution window. That is nothing short of a national disgrace.
“If the government is truly committed to public safety, I urge the Home Office, the Department for Transport, and the Ministry of Justice to act now. The solution is simple: allow police to take immediate roadside evidential saliva samples. Other countries have done this for years – why is the UK still falling behind?”
