Drivers face drug tests
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by Sally Nash • Truck drivers may be asked to take part in drug screening trials from next month as part of a new Government clampdown on drug-driving.
The move, which comes hot on the heels of plans to get tough on drink-drivers, is designed to assess two types of drug screening devices. Drivers in Cleveland, Lancashire, Strathclyde and Sussex will be involved in the three-month trials on a voluntary basis.
One of the devices being tested is Drugwipe, which works by taking a specimen of sweat from the forehead. The other, manufactured by Cozart Bioscience, requires a saliva specimen.
The Department of Transport stresses that the main purpose of the trials is not to test drivers for drugs, but to establish whether the devices are suitable for everyday police work.
A spokesman says the introduc tion of widespread drugs screen ing is some way of f— there are still almost Roadside drug two years to go before a study into the incidence of drugs in road accident victims is completed. If drivers refuse to take part, no further action will be taken.
Early figures from the DOT study indicate that the scale of illicit drug use among young people who have been killed in road accidents has increased considerably over the past decade.
After analysing 619 fatal accidents it was revealed that 18% of drivers killed had taken illicit drugs. Some drugs remain in the system for a long time— cannabis, for example, for up to four weeks.
A spokesman for supermarket giant Safeway, which finished trials of alcohol testing just before Christmas, believes that drink and drugs testing will come as a "complete package" in the future.
Drugvvipe already has a number of haulage firms using the testing equipment on drivers. Each set costs 48.50.
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