A week after the accident caused by Pierre Palmade under the influence of cocaine, the Minister of the Interior takes up the problem of drugs while driving. In an interview at JDD, Gérald Darmanin “proposes the withdrawal of the twelve points from the driving license for anyone who drives while using drugs”. He recalls on this point that “the loss of the license is automatic only in recidivism today”.
Currently, driving under the use of narcotics is punishable by the loss of six points. Additional penalties may also lead to a suspension of the permit for a maximum of three years and a cancellation of the permit with a maximum of three years of prohibition from applying for a new permit.
On the road, “600” drug-related deaths per year
Gérald Darmanin also wants “to make a medical visit compulsory for any proven drug user so that he is authorized to drive if he is taking treatment”. Based on the association’s proposal, he also indicates that he is working “with Eric Dupond-Moretti to rename fatal accidents caused by drugs and alcohol as ‘road homicide'”. About “600 people die each year in road accidents related to narcotics”, adds the Minister.
A total of 800,000 “drug” roadside checks took place in 2022, “double the number of previous years”. “I gave the instruction to make a million this year”, he says again, assuring that “16% of controls for the use of narcotics while driving turned out to be positive against 3% of those concerning alcohol “.