Press Release

26089J1 Final

22 May 2014

‘Don't Let Drugs Take the Driving Seat!'

Kent Road Safety Launch Summer Drug Driving Campaign

www.drugdrivekent.co.uk

The ‘drink driving message' is finally hitting home with the public, but driving whilst under the influence of drugs has grown as a potential menace over the past 15 years. With this in mind, Kent County Council has launched its summer road safety campaign targeting drug driving - headlined

‘Don't Let Drugs Take the Driving Seat'. The campaign which will use cinema, online, radio, county-wide poster sites, printed media as well as PR is aimed at creating awareness within the 17-34 year old age group, which has the highest levels of recreational drug use.

This year, the Road Safety Team is taking the message to the key audiences around the county, beginning with students at Mid Kent College, Maidstone, at 12:00 on 22^nd May 2014. The KCC Road Safety team, Kent Police, a stilt-walker and marionette depicting the key image of the campaign, will be in the college refectory, providing advice on drug driving.

The campaign uses vivid imagery of a young female ‘marionette' not in control of her actions and illustrating a number of the impairments demonstrated by drug drivers. All of these impairments are detectable by the Police at the roadside and include slower reaction times, hallucinations, paranoia, panic attacks, dizziness or blurred vision. Any of these effects will reduce a driver's ability to control a vehicle and may lead to a crash.

Conviction for drug driving carries severe penalties including a driving ban, up to £5,000 fine and imprisonment, as well as the real risk of causing a serious crash resulting in injury or death.

The most recent national research shows that 22 percent of those killed in crashes in the UK have either illegal or prescription drugs in their bloodstream. It also highlights that in an increasing number of crashes drugs may have been a contributory factor to the cause of the incident.

Steve Horton, Kent County Council's road safety team leader, said:

"Drug driving causes very similar effects on drivers as alcohol, but the target group of 17 to 34 year olds, currently do not connect recreational drug use to impaired driving skills. Like alcohol, drugs do have a real negative effect on drivers' ability behind the wheel. Our drug driving campaign is designed to challenge these are misconceptions."

Kent Police is backing this campaign and officers will be making drivers undergo a roadside impairment tests when they are stopped for a road traffic offence. These impairment tests consist of five simple physical assessments, which highlight the driver's inability to control their motor skills.

Police Sergeant Hannah Brown, from Kent Police's Roads Policing Unit, stated: ‘As part of our #PlayYourPart campaign this summer, we are on the lookout for erratic driving behaviour and know all the signs to spot a drug driver. If you are pulled over for any reason, or if you are involved in a collision, you may find yourself subject of a test. A conviction for driving while under the influence of drugs will result in a minimum one year driving ban and up to six months in prison.'

url: http://www.drugdrivekent.co.uk

Editor Contact:

If you wish to interview Steve Horton, please contact one of the below.

John Todd Simon Merrick

Marketing and Promotions Officer thinkzest

Kent County Council

01622 694034 01634671167

simon.merrick@thinkzest.com

Note to editor:

Within new legislation due to pass into law in 2014 it is proposed to provide roadside drug testing kits to police forces and to adopt a zero-tolerance for drug driving. The kits are expected to be rolled out during summer 2014.

How drugs really affect your driving:

If you think drug driving has little or even a positive impact on your driving you could be tragically mistaken. It's important to bear in mind that it can be hard to determine exactly how a drug will affect your driving ability - impairment caused by drugs can very according to the individual, drug type, dosage, the length of time the drugs stays in the your body, or if the drug has been taken with other drugs or alcohol.

Cannabis

Some people think that cannabis is a 'safer substitute' to drinking, but it can cause concentration to wander, which can affect reaction times. It can also cause paranoia, drowsiness, distorted perception and a sense of disorientation - all of which could cause you to lose control whilst driving.

Cannabis is the most commonly traced drug in drivers, with over 800,000 drivers travelling under the influence of it every year in the UK. Even though the effects fade after a matter of hours, it can be detected in the blood for up to four weeks. In theory, this can compromise the driver if they're tested positive, even if their driving wasn't adversely affected at the time.

In a study by the Transport Research Laboratory, people who drove a car at 66 miles per hour had a stopping distance of around 270ft, but after smoking a joint this increased on average by 15% to 310ft. In a slalom test, those who had just smoked a joint knocked over 30% more cones.

Some experts claim that smoking a cannabis joint has roughly a similar level of impairment on driving ability as drinking four pints of beer. Also, reports show that in the majority of fatal crashes where cannabis has been detected in a driver's body, alcohol has also been detected. Alcohol alone or in combination with cannabis increases impairment, accident rate and accident responsibility (the same can be applied to other drugs, too).

Cocaine

This is a psycho-stimulant that can lead to misjudging driving speed and stopping distances. It can also cause a distorted sense of light and sound and a feeling of overconfidence, which can lead to aggressive and erratic driving. While it can make you feel alert at first, the effects wear off quickly, leading to an increased danger of falling asleep at the wheel.

Ecstasy

A stimulant drug with hallucinogenic properties, ecstasy can distort your sense of vision and heighten sense of sound. Your concentration can be affected, while you may become over-confident and more likely to take dangerous risks.

Ketamine, LSD and magic mushrooms

Drugs such as these with hallucinogenic properties can strongly influence the senses, so drivers may react to objects or sounds that aren't there, and place themselves and other road users in danger. Coordination skills are likely to be greatly affected, and you may experience anxiety, blurred vision and a sense of detachment from reality - all of which could be deadly on the road.

Speed (amphetamine)
While amphetamines might give you a sense of heightened alertness and confidence, they can be highly dangerous for drivers as they distort your perceptions and can make you feel anxious, prone to panic attacks and lose coordination.

Prescription medication

Antihistamines (often used in flu and hay fever remedies) and tranquillisers (used to treat anxiety, depression and sleeping disorders) may significantly affect reaction times and cause drowsiness. If the label advises against 'operating heavy machinery', consider it a warning not to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. If in doubt, consult your doctor (GP).

ends