Legal drug driving to be made illegal?
Monday, July 30, 2007 
"Drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol will be targeted during a summer crackdown in England and Wales." Fair enough (full story HERE). But wait:
Steve Green, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, says legally available prescription drugs should be included in the ban. "We've got to err on the safe side. If a drug can have that result [of impairing driving ability] then I think we've got to say to people I'm sorry, if you need this drug, then you shouldn't drive."
So, drivers on legally available prescription drugs could be asked by police to take a roadside test and those who refuse could be arrested and (as a result) fined or even banned from driving.
Think about it. There must be hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people on prescription drugs. Thousands of older people (organ transplant patients, for example) rely on prescription drugs to keep them alive. Are all these people to live in fear of being pulled over by the police and arrested?
As for drivers who want to quit smoking, I'd think twice about using a prescription drug such as Champix or Zyban. It may help you stop smoking, but at what cost to your independence and even your livelihood?
Reader Comments (4)
All legal drugs, over the counter and prescription state whether or not there is a possibility that they could make you drowsy and if so, do not drive or operate machinery. Surely, the vast majority of adults are aware if one of these drugs affects them in this way. The biggest problem for people, especially smokers many of whom now feel quite vulnerable in the workplace, is if they need to take legal prescription or over the counter drugs for say hayfever and they do adversely affect them, how do they get to work if they need to drive? Many people will take the chance simply because they cannot afford to lose their job and feel that their job would be in greater jeopardy if they were off sick for a period of time or on frequent occasions, than their driving licence would be as they are really quite unlikely to be stopped unless they are doing something daft or dangerous or there is a specific check point.
I am medically exempt from wearing a seatbelt and the other week was the first and only time, so far, that I have been stopped since the law came in 25 years ago, and I drive most days and clock up around 12,000 miles a year on average. That must tell you something!
It is like most other persecutions that drivers and smokers suffer, you just have to be more careful and be more aware of police cars and especially try and watch out for the unmarked ones. The fact that this takes your mind off other things on and around the roads is just unfortunate - nowadays it has to be every man/woman for him/herself as that is the type of country we now live in.
Lyn
I wonder what percentage of drivers are NOT on prescription/over the counter drugs and how many drivers totally abstain from drinking alchol the evening before driving the next morning. Perhaps very few drivers should be on the road at all.
So cynical am I now that I'm only just joking when I say that I wouldn't be surprised if this is a typically cack-handed measure to tackle the problem of congestion.
Apparently, the greatest cause of lost productivity in the UK today is stress. A zero tolerance approach to driving and the sensible use of legal drugs adds yet more to our daily lives. It's possible, however, that stress is responsible for the speeding and aggression that we see on the roads today and that these factors are far more likely to result in accidents.
More assinine nonsense!
And whilst they're at it why not ban anyone who has hayfever or a cold- and thus may not be paying 'full attention ' by having runny eyes or sneezing ,and any one with any kind of dermatitus who may need to scratch a lot causing possible 'distraction' In fact in which case also anyone driving with children in the car-the greatest possible distraction to driving or any one who has not had a good nights sleep, or anyone who may be worrying about something...Its a scary place we live in, thankfully websites like this one continue to give me faith in society.