Driver - drugs

Alcohol
Around 10 people are killed and 50 seriously injured in drink drive crashes every week. The legal drink drive limit is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. Drivers with a blood alcohol concentration between 50 and 80mg per 100ml of blood are 2 to 21/2 times more likely to crash and 6 times more likely to be in a fatal crash. The risk increases massively when over the limit. A driver who is double the legal limit is 50 times more likely to be in a fatal crash.

Every year, about 90,000 people are convicted of drinking and driving, and face a driving ban of at least 12 months, a large fine and possible imprisonment. It is also an offence to be unfit to drive through drugs or drink, even if below the legal limit, or drugs. The penalties are same as for the 'over the limit' drink offence.

Clear rules should be set and adhered to with regard to alcohol consumption such as no drinking on company premises, no drinking at lunchtimes etc.

There should be a strict policy on how an employee is dealt with should they be found to have broken the rules; however there should also be procedures in place to deal with employees with alcohol problems.

Drugs
Around 18% of people killed in road crashes have traces of illegal drugs in their blood, with cannabis being the most common. Drugs can affect a driver’s behaviour and body in a variety of ways.

Prescribed
If employees who drive on company business are taking prescribed medication they should inform the relevant person to ensure that the drugs will not affect their ability to drive. If the drugs do affect the ability to drive then the employee should not be allowed to drive until the medication is out of their system.

Over the Counter
Employees should be made aware that some medication will affect their ability to drive. They should ask the pharmacist to provide medication which will not affect driving abilities. If there is no alternative then the driver should not be allowed to drive until they medication is out of their system. A particular problem in the summer months is hay fever medication.

Illegal
There should be strict company policy on how an employee is dealt with should they be found to be taking illegal drugs. If an employee is found using illegal drugs they should not be allowed to drive on company business.

Click here to download a ROSPA guide to drink & drugs and a sample drink & drug policy