France: 28% Of Deadly Drivers

Both Drunk And Drugged

PHOTO: GENDARMERIE.INTERIEUR.GOUV.FR19 APR - The problem of driving under the concurrent intoxication of both alcohol and drugs is subject to intensive public debate in France.

Now the Minister of the Interior joins the debate saying that the specific offense of driving under the dual influence of alcohol and narcotics "remains under-recognized".

Concern

According to Minister Gérald Darmanin "two out of seven drivers (28%) involved in a fatal accident presented a double positivity to alcohol and drugs tests». Darmanin is asking prefects to strengthen double screening for alcohol and drugs while driving during road checks in order to combat “multiple consumption”, according to a note from the Interior Ministry consulted last week.

Problem

In 2022, “1,004 people” were killed in a road accident in which “at least one driver” was involved who had consumed alcohol or drugs, writes the minister in this note dated Thursday and also addressed to directors generals of the national police (DGPN) and the gendarmerie (DGGN). The police have doubled the number of alcohol and drug screenings in 2022, Darmanin added. This same year, findings of driving under the influence of alcohol increased by 14% compared to 2021, by 12% for drug use and by 18% for the two causes combined.

Ignored

But the specific offense of driving under the dual influence of alcohol and narcotics "remains under-recognized", continues the minister, who specifies that the problem of double positivity is increasingly concerning. The minister calls on prefects and law enforcement to carry out more systematic screening of the alcohol level in exhaled air when a driver presents a positive drugs saliva test. And conversely, the minister urged them to carry out more systematic screening for drug use in the event of a positive alcohol test.