UK Drivers in Favour of Random Drug & Alcohol Testing
Most British motorists are in favour of random driver drug and alcohol testing, new research finds.
Road safety charity Brake and insurance company Direct Line surveyed over 1,000 drivers and uncovered that seven in 10 would support random drug and alcohol testing by police. Only one in every 10 respondents claimed to be against the proposal being carried out.
Brake says the ‘levels of drink and drug driving on the roads are increasing’, with deaths in crashes involving a drink driver rising by nine per cent from 2017 to 2017 – from 230 to 250.
Meanwhile, the number of fatal and serious crashes involving the ‘driver/rider impaired by illicit or medicinal drugs’ has gone up by eight per cent over the same period. The figure jumped from 447 to 484 incidents.
Joshua Harris, director of campaigns for Brake, said: “It’s shocking to see drink and drug driving increasing on our roads, causing untold devastation to families across the country every day.
“We need the next Government to tackle this worrying trend and we call for new police powers to set up vehicle checkpoints to carry out random alcohol and drug tests on the road.”
The charity is also warning drivers about the impact of drink and drugs on driving during this festive season, urging motorists ‘to adopt a zero-tolerance approach to driving impaired’.
Harris added: “Whilst we want people to go out and enjoy themselves, drivers must know that getting behind the wheel after drinking can have potentially devastating consequences.
“Simply put, if you are drinking, don’t drive, and if you must drive, don’t drink.”
