Key messages
A new law on driving after taking certain drugs (including
some medicines – see below) is coming into force in March 2015. This law states that it is an offence to drive with
certain drugs above specified levels in the body, whether your driving is
impaired or not
If your driving is impaired then you are guilty of
breaking the law
What is the issue?
The list of
drugs includes certain medicines that are sometimes abused, such as medicines
used to treat:
• extreme pain (morphine, diamorphine, ketamine)
• anxiety or inability to sleep (diazepam, clonazepam,
lorazepam, oxazepam, temazepam)
• drug addiction (methadone)
• attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also known as
ADHD (amphetamine)
• multiple sclerosis (nabiximols)
If you are found to be driving with any of these medicines above
the limits in your body, you could be guilty of breaking the law. But if you
are taking the medicines according to the advice of your prescriber or leaflet
in the package, and your driving is not impaired, then you are not guilty of
breaking this law.
What will happen if I’m stopped by the police?
The police may use a roadside test to see if you have taken
any of the drugs. If the test detects any relevant drugs, the type and level of
the drugs in your body can be confirmed by a blood test taken at the police
station. The law provides you with a “medical defence”. This states that you
are not guilty if:
• the medicine was prescribed, supplied, or sold to you to
treat a medical or dental problem, and
• you took the medicine according to the instructions given
by the prescriber or the information provided with the medicine.
But if your driving is impaired, you are guilty of breaking
the law.
What should I do if I need to take any of the specified
medicines?
Keep taking your medicine as prescribed. Check the leaflet
that comes with your medicine for information on how your medicine may affect
your driving ability. Do not drive while taking your medicine until you know
how it affects you. Do not drive if you feel drowsy, dizzy, unable to
concentrate or make decisions, or if you have blurred or double vision.
For further information on this new law, go to:www.gov.uk/government/collections/drug-driving
