Roadside Drug Testing
In theory, it sounds like a promising way to reduce the road toll. In reality it may not be that important. Roadside drug testing of drivers is being considered for introduction as cannabis has been found in the blood of a few bad drivers and the penalty for causing death in one case was just two months jail. If for example the driver had alcohol in his blood, legal culpability would be more established.
We believe that anyone getting behind the wheel of a car has a responsiblity to control it well. Bad driving is bad driving no matter what excuse or rationale explains it. And making laws based on individual cases is foolish in the extreme. How many years of police time will be spent detecting the few idiots who get behind the wheel with impared judgement - time and resources that may be better expended keeping drivers cool and moderate.
Will other factors that relate to misjudgement at the wheel be ignored as there is no crime to punish - for example if someone is fired, or has an argument with their spouse? Both can cause resentment and anger to boil the blood and that anger causes driving impairment. If they then smack into a driver who has traces of a cannabis in their blood, an established legal culpability may punish the wrong party.
How many of us approach a police breath check with some trepidation and for that time drive unnaturally well? And are those the people who may then react to the big brother approach with a sense of recklessness in subsequent drinking? Road side checks appear to work for the majority of drivers.
The application of the law is a dual edged sword and consequences of poorly thought out laws are many and vast.
Mind you, with such new laws, they can get boy racers under the influence of adrenaline or shoving too much testosterone into their exhaust pipes as well as the mad P maniacs before they committ drug fueled attrocities.
Sugar also causes manic behaviour in many children, so perhaps a blood-sugar level check would also be in order. No, I am sorry sir, but you are at fault - it was the second Snickers bar that took you way over the limit.
The sheer number of cars on the road is also a factor. Travelling at non-peak times is a way to reduce driver stress and fatigue. Road rage, unexpressed, is also deadly. Day in and day out traffic queues as holiday makers all converge at the same intersection on the same day could be avoided and that would also improve driver conduct.
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