Shocking - 10% of Truck Drivers taking drugs

[Sore Thumb]

Could this be one of the reasons why so many cyclists are getting killed by truck drivers?

I hope now they will do a routine drug test after a truck driver has a collision.

And what's more shocking is that the story seems to suggest that the company's know about the lab results and have taken no action.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17563574

 

[Vikeonabike]

Might explain the behavior of this driver!

 

[MontyVeda]

that article reads like a load of hearsay and assumed facts from the anonymous... oh, that's 5 live journalism for you.

 

[Sore Thumb]

They did however contact the labs that did the tests.

 

[Recycler]

They are not saying that 10% of all truck drivers are high on drugs. They are saying that, in some of the companies, the figure was as high as 10%. The overall figure would be lower than 10%.

It's also clear that they are including courier companies and I would expect that they would have a higher incidence of drugged drivers ("White van man" and all that implies)
I suspect, and hope, that the figure for lorry drivers is considerably lower than 10%.

That's not to say that any percentage over zero is acceptable, but those figures need to be taken with a very large pinch of salt.

 

[dawesome]

Nearly a third of all HGVs breaking the law:

A week-long truck safety operation across Europe led to the detection of nearly 450 alcohol and drug offences among drivers. The... ...February operation saw police across 25 countries carrying out a wide range of safety inspections that focused on speeding, alcohol, drugs, seatbelt use, tachograph infringements, excess weight, dangerous loading and document offences. Additional checks were made on transport security matters, where signs of illegal immigration and human trafficking were looked for, as well as the transporting of illegal drugs, firearms and stolen goods.
A total of 188,547 vehicles were stopped and 58,415 offences were reported.

https://www.tispol.org/news/article...nd-drug-offences-detected-among-truck-drivers

In London, 100%:

Turning to the issues of lorries, Inspector Aspinall told the meeting about a day of City of London spot checks on HGVs, carried out on 30 September 2008 as part of the Europe-wide Operation Mermaid, which is intended to step up levels of enforcement of road safety laws in relation to lorries. On this one day, 12 lorries were stopped randomly by City Police. Five of those lorries were involved in the construction work for the 2012 Olympics. All of the twelve lorries were breaking the law in at least one way. Repeat: a 100 per cent criminality rate among small random sample of HGVs on the streets of central London.

http://www.movingtargetzine.com/article/city-of-london-police-road-safety-forum

 

[Hebe]

I'd prefer to see a more objective account with direct named sources. I'd also be more concerned about what the percentage is across the driving population as a whole, but presumably this wouldn't make for as good a story.

 

[DRHysted]

considering the number of lorry drivers I deal with everyday, I do not believe that title.

 

[jonny jeez]

I don't know about the research and stats but not a single ride (motorbike or pushbike) goes by when I don't smell drugs at least oncee (mostly 3 or 4 times). It's easy to spot the offender...window open, fag in mouth and (almost without exception) driving a commercial vehicle of some sort.

I've seen one car driver and all the rest were vans of some size and shape. I was astounded by this when I first started to commute by bike, now its just commonplace. Shocking that the police (who ride the same roads), have little or no tools to allow them to combat this.

 

[jonny jeez]

considering the number of lorry drivers I deal with everyday, I do not believe that title.

If truck = van..then I'm afraid I dont either...those numbers are far, far too low.

 

[DRHysted]

To be honest if any of the drivers gave the slightest hint of being under the influance, they quite simply wouldn't get on site, let alone get loaded or offloaded.
But then considering what comes in and goes out, I'd expect nothing different.

 

[jonny jeez]

To be honest if any of the drivers gave the slightest hint of being under the influance, they quite simply wouldn't get on site, let alone get loaded or offloaded.
But then considering what comes in and goes out, I'd expect nothing different.

That doesn't stop them, these guys are in the rush hour...so are on their way home, not to site.

 

[Maz]

10% of truck drivers are taking drugs?
Are they delivering to LloydsPharmacy and Boots?