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Fleet managers need to take note of the Government's zero tolerance approach to drug-driving. The Coalition has already announced its intention of introducing a new offence of driving with a specific controlled drug in the body above the specified limit for that drug and will now seek bans to underscore a zero tolerance to those driving with illegal drugs in their system.
A driver who has smoked cannabis faces a ban of at least a year, a fine of up to £5,000 and possible imprisonment. This means companies need to take a hard look at their own fleet policy, if they have not already done so, and add to or revise some of its contents.
When it becomes law, police will no longer have to show a driver's ability was impaired by drugs, merely that the driver had taken drugs. They can take three saliva tests at the roadside and, if the return is positive, take the driver to the nearest police station for a blood test.
In the case of smoking cannabis, just over two micrograms per litre would result in at least a year's ban.
A zero tolerance policy will cover the use of eight known controlled drugs including cannabis, cocaine and heroin just to identify the most well-known ones.
Another controlled drug, amphetamine, which is sometimes prescribed for medical use but is often used illegally, will also be added once consultations have taken place on the limit to impose.
The limits for the eight controlled drugs detailed by the Government follow the limit recommendations of an expert panel of medical and science experts.
These limits have been set to avoid catching out the innocent who are driving while taking prescribed drugs or readily available medicine.
Anything which makes life easier for traffic police at a time when their numbers are being cut - 13% in England and nearly a third in Wales - is to be welcomed.
And it's also high time that the Government took the whole issue of drug-driving more seriously. While successive Governments have been consistent in their approach to drink driving, albeit sticking to higher limits than those which prevail in most European countries, drug-driving has repeatedly slipped under the radar.
As it was welcome news that Government was getting stricter on driving standards - allowing the police to hand out heftier, on-the-spot fines and penalty points for driving while using a hand-held phone, hogging the middle lane on motorways or tailgating, it's good news that the new, tougher drug-driving law and penalties should come into force next year.
At a time when budgets are stretched to breaking point, on-the-spot fines of £100 and three penalty points for middle lane hogging on motorways or tailgating could become a useful income source for replenishing the empty coffers.
Stricter attention to driving standards is long overdue. For too many years, standards have dropped from motorists driving at 40 mph in the open countryside to drivers wandering across lanes while phoning or texting.
There is never room for complacency and while road deaths are down again, falling by 8% to a record low of 1,754, deaths among cyclists have risen by 10%, and serious injuries up for an eighth successive year.
And the increase in deaths and injuries among cyclists is proportionately greater than those that have recently taken to two-wheel mobile power.
Fleets should welcome the new, tougher approach. This should encourage them to change their drivers' behaviour, see the introduction of more driver training and result in fewer road accidents.
Reduced accident costs, less vehicle down time, reduced absence and a decrease in insurance premiums all help an organisation's bottom line, duty of care record and reflect well on those responsible for fleet.
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