Roadside drug-driving tests to start

Police are to start carrying out roadside drug-driving tests by the end of the year.

Traffic officers are to be given powers to carry out the tests on drivers they suspect are driving under the influence of drugs under a Bill which will become law next week

They will have equipment and training in place by the end of the year when roadside tests will begin, the Department for Transport said today. The screening tests will involve taking saliva samples from drivers which will detect the presence of drugs.

If they are positive, drivers will be arrested and taken to a police station for a full-scale test similar to that for alcohol - although unlike drink, there will be no acceptable level for drugs. The move was revealed at a conference of England's top police officers in Blackpool, which heard that pilot schemes have succeeded in France and Australia.

The Association of Chief Police Officers' annual drugs conference is also due to discuss the growing problem of crack cocaine.

Until now police hoping to catch drug-drivers have had to use outdated "impairment tests", which involved asking suspects to walk in a straight line, similar to tests used before the introduction of the breathalyser to catch drink-drivers.

Research has shown that at least 200 people die each year in drug-driving related accidents and seven per cent of people say they have been in a car with a driver under the influence of illegal substances.