After a survey revealed that 3% of motorists aged 17-24 drive under the influence of drugs at least once per month. Brake (in conjunction with Direct Line Insurance and the family of teenage drug-driving victim Lillian Groves) are pleading with the Government to introduce critical life-saving changes to our shameful UK drug-driving laws.

Derby, UK (Carbag.co.uk News) 1st February 2012. Current UK law dictates that impairment must be proved in order to prosecute. Effective policing would surely increase with the eradication of this sickening loophole; in short, driving whilst under the influence of banned substances needs to be outlawed immediately in order to save lives.

Prime Minister David Cameron promised to order officials to

“stop dragging their feet”

and was quoted as saying

"It's incredibly simple; test equipment should be in every police car."

Today however, the situation remains the same despite promises from the Home Office to provide the police with effective test kits by 2012.

The 3 key proposals put to Government are as follows:

• Outlaw drug-driving (before 2015 as initially proposed) to a degree comparable with that of drink-driving whilst simplifying the prosecution process
• Update the subjective field impairment tests currently in use, with effective ‘drugalysers’ which could clearly identify unfit drivers
• Increase police presence on the roads and empower officers with the right to randomly search suspects, so as to further deter potential law-breakers

But just how simple are these proposed changes to put into effect? If they’re already being implemented in other EU countries such as Germany and the Prime Minister openly states that they’re simple, well then they must be, right? It’s really beggars belief that a so-called civilised country such as ours can tolerate such a seemingly blasé Government.

Everyone who’s surely as shocked as I am at the state of this so called law can help to bring about change. As Ellen Booth of Brake says...

“We need a ban on driving with illegal drugs in your system, and we need roadside drugalysers. The longer this takes, the more lives will be violently and tragically lost.”

In 2010 Lilian Groves was just 14 when she was killed by 36 year old drug-driver John Page, whose uninsured car was found to contain cannabis. Nine hours later he tested positive and to be under the influence of cannabis and as a result eventually spent just eight weeks in prison as his intoxication levels had lowered by the time he was tested.

Please sign the Groves family petition, because every signature added is another step not only towards safer roads for the UK but towards some sense of justice for those families who have suffered enough without further insult from our legal system and the empty promises of our Prime Minister.

By Caroline Nicholls
Reviewer/ Contributory Author