Memorandum from VMCL Ltd (DDD 31)
The following are the views and comments of
VMCL Ltd submitted in response to an email received Saturday 27
August 2010, requesting views from interested parties on Sir Peter
North's recommendations.
VMCL LTD
VMCL Ltd is a training and consultancy company,
established in 1993, specialising in alcohol and drug awareness,
with particular emphasis on road safety and the working environment.
Our services include both re-active and pro-active training. We
welcome the publication of Sir Peter North's Review and the opportunity
to comment on his recommendations.
VMCL have participated in the Drink Drive Rehabilitation
Scheme since its introduction as an experiment via the Road Traffic
Act 1991 and we currently provide training for 125 Magistrates'
Courts in the South of England, plus 46 Sheriff Courts in Scotland.
In excess of 150,000 drink drive offenders have been referred
to our Company for training. The aim of our course is to make
roads safer by reducing the drink drive reoffending rate.
Our client base includes the Courts mentioned
above, HM Prison Service, County Councils and large private organisations.
In addition to providing Drink Drive Rehabilitation
Courses, VMCL Ltd has been awarded a contract by the Home Office
to deliver training courses across the South of England to support
Drink Banning Orders and helps run an Alcohol and Drug Agency
dealing with all levels of dependency. This includes providing
drug and alcohol assessments in custody suites and assessing patients
in hospital.
COMMENTS
Reduction in the permitted blood alcohol limit
A very fundamental and recurring message throughout
our educational courses is "Don't Drink and Drive" and
we strongly believe that this simple, yet non-negotiable message
makes a major contribution to the successful outcome of our courses.
We strongly agree the prescribed blood alcohol
limit should be reduced to 50mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood.
In excess of 150,000 drink drivers have been referred to our Company
for training and the same comments are made time and again by
the offenders, namely "I didn't realise I would reach the
drink drive limit so quickly" and "the limit should
be reduced so that everyone knows where they stand. At the moment,
I am unsure about how much alcohol is a safe amount, if the limit
was reduced it would be easier to understand".
This comment has been made by literally hundreds
of offenders referred to VMCL Ltd for training.
Even before the publication of Sir Peter's report
there was overwhelming evidence that reducing the current level
from 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml would significantly reduce the KSI
figures and the subsequent and associated costs in human suffering
and financial cost.
Sir Peter's report consolidates and highlights
the latest information available relating to drink driving and
as such presents, in our opinion, an overwhelming case for reducing
the legal limit from 80mg/100ml to 50mg/100ml; VMCL Ltd supports
this conclusion.
Mandatory one year ban
Our view is that the mandatory one-year ban
should be retained for the new lower level. A reduced ban would
send out mixed messages and convey the wrong signals to those
that drink and drive. It has been proved in several tests involving
vehicle simulators, the Manchester Bus Driver Experiment etc that
any amount of alcohol will cause impairment as it affects those
faculties essential for safe driving, judgement, reaction time
and vision. The message we must reinforce is "You must not
drink and drive" not one of "OK if you drink a bit less
we won't penalise you so much". This would send out the completely
wrong message and potentially undermine the encouraging results
achieved so far in reducing the KSI statistics.
To reinforce the message that drinking and driving
is not acceptable, we would achieve a better result by leaving
the minimum ban at one year, but offering a greater reduction
of say 50% for those who are between 50mg and 80mg in 100ml of
blood and who complete a drink drive course, instead of the current
maximum reduction of 25% for those who exceed 80mg per 100ml in
the blood. This would continue to emphasise the perils of drink
driving and support the theme of "Don't drink and drive",
but would also highlight the benefits of education in attending
a drink drive course. This would also recognise there may be a
perception of undue severity of penalty for the lower limit, without
the opportunity to voluntarily reduce the mandatory one year ban
further.
Pre driver/novice driver qualifications
It is of some concern to our Company that having
been involved with the drink drive scheme since its inception
and sitting on the original steering group etc, we have seen no
reduction in the number of drink drive offenders referred to our
Company for training. The profile of the offender may change over
the years, the average age may get lower or higher etc, but the
numbers are fairly static.
It would seem that although the training provided
by the drink drive scheme achieves excellent results, a lot more
could be done to provide alcohol and drug awareness training to
drivers before they are arrested.
The logical time to conduct alcohol and drug
awareness training is at the time the individual is receiving
driver training, but not by the driving instructor. The Department
for Transport and the Driving Standards Agency have spent considerable
time and money in developing a recruitment and training procedure
for the continual development of drink drive course tutors, which
all drink drive training providers have taken on board. This has
been a lengthy process and we are seeing measurable improvements
as a result.
Driving instructors are excellent at one to
one training, but when we interviewed two driving instructors
for a drink drive tutor vacancy, we found them far from adequate
and they really struggled when questioned about group dynamics
etc. An important part of alcohol or drug awareness training is
group interaction. We find this is essential for the long term
learning process.
To help address the issue of learner/novice
driver training, we produced a short four hour module consisting
of two x two hour sessions, which we wanted to trial free of charge
with learner drivers. However, when we approached our local driving
schools with the concept and to obtain referrals, they only wanted
to know what was in it for them. When told we would not be charging
as it was a trial, no one wished to participate.
Drug Driving
Sir Peter's report comprehensively documents
the lack of reliable information necessary to accurately determine
the severity of the problem relating to drug driving, and many
of the reasons and the history behind this.
This lack of evidence based information is clearly
a serious obstacle in making informed decisions and consequently
those parts of Sir Peter's report which address this issue assume
greater importance.
With the absence of reliable statistics about
drug driving from the other agencies, we can only comment on the
information we receive from the offenders who attend our drink
drive courses.
Our average course attendance for drink driving
courses is fourteen offenders. When we ask if anyone in the room
is prepared to admit if they have taken illegal substances and
then driven a motor vehicle, at least one person will raise their
hand and sometimes as many as three, and these are just the ones
who are prepared to admit what they have done. When we ask if
anyone knows someone else who has taken illegal substances and
driven, at least half the class will raise their hands.
When those who admit they have committed drug
driving are questioned about it, they state they felt safe as
they know the Police have difficulty in proving the case, unlike
drink driving. One man stated he regularly takes ecstasy and drives.
The effect depends on where the drug is purchased. If from club
"A", it is probably only made of flour as it has no
effect. If, however, it is purchased from club "B" the
effect is immediate. On one occasion, after buying the drug in
club "B" he started to drive along a dual carriageway,
but the road appeared to become narrower and then widen again
on a regular basis. Eventually, he stopped because he thought
the road was too narrow to travel along, even though he was the
only vehicle on a dual carriageway.
From our experience in helping to run an alcohol
and drug agency, it is very clear that the rehabilitation of drug
driving offenders cannot follow the exact same path as that for
drink drivers.
The breathalyser measures the consumption of
all types of alcohol and the drink drive courses are suitable
for all drink drivers no matter what alcohol they have consumed.
Drug drivers, however, are very different and
should be treated according to the drugs they have taken. In the
past, VMCL Ltd has produced a course for drivers who have taken
recreational drugs such as cannabis and ecstasy and this course
was submitted to the DfT for information. This course would be
totally unsuitable for someone who was convicted of driving having
used cocaine.
Those who are hooked on hard drugs sometimes
have to change their friends, change their job and sometimes move
home to help them break their habit and this cannot be achieved
with a classroom based course attended by offenders who have taken
various drugs.
The alcohol and drug agency we help run deals
with all levels of dependency and unfortunately we have several
deaths each year among our patients.
The first step in helping and educating any
drug user is an accurate and detailed assessment by a qualified
assessor. They then need a period of one to one counselling, this
time by a qualified counsellor. This may only require one session
depending on the level of help required. The person is then allocated
to a supervised group consisting of other drug users, who either
have a similar level of dependency or may use similar drugs. These
meet on a regular basis, following a set programme. The process
from beginning to end takes approximately 13 weeks and after this
period all but the hard drug users show positive results. Our
procedures are such, that the agency was the first in the UK to
receive the new Kite Mark for alcohol and drug services and we
now offer 20 placements each year for students taking degree courses
in related subjects.
It is important that any training or counselling
of drug users, even if they are only recreational users or convicted
of impairment whilst using prescribed drugs, meets the standards
laid down by DANOS to guarantee a measurable level of quality.
August 2010
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