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You will know by now that a new law has come into force which ensures that drivers face prosecution if they exceed limits set for illegal, and some prescription, drugs. The police will be using roadside "drugalysers" to check drivers using a similar approach to the one that they use to test for alcohol currently.
A big change but by the same token a really obvious one. The effects of drugs are similar (and sometimes worse) to alcohol in that they adversely impact your judgment, your reactions and your concentration so it would never be appropriate to drive when under their influence.
As with drink driving, most drivers won't have an issue because they won't do it. Where drivers will need to be careful though is when taking over-the-counter or prescription medicines. If you read the small print on many readily available medicines it advises you not to drive, but many of us would never check. Under this new law, there are also thresholds set for prescription medicines.
The advice is to speak with your doctor or Pharmacist to check, but in general not to worry too much. Apparently the thresholds for legal medicines have been set at a sensible level and much higher than those for illegal drugs, so for people taking medicine on an ongoing basis for example it shouldn't be an issue.
What we don't want are safe drivers with ongoing ailments to be penalised, and from what I've heard I don't think that will be the case, but clamping down on drug fuelled drivers is of course a positive step forward and the right thing to do.
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