Committee proposes updating hazardous driving laws

The Committee for Home Affairs is proposing updates to the driving laws

Changes to Guernsey's driving laws are set to be proposed by the Committee for Home Affairs.

The committee says it wants to create new offences for hazardous driving, and give the police more powers to test for driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

A policy letter will also propose creating more efficiencies in the law to "ensure justice can be delivered more swiftly".

The current law does not allow for roadside testing for the use of drugs, and the committee said the law had "gaps in relation to hazardous driving and drug-driving", leaving island police with "insufficient charging options".

'Ignore the laws'

The committee said the current roadside breathalysers were "not evidential" and further evidential tests were required.

The proposals will seek to introduce new offences in line with the UK's current ones, including causing death whilst driving carelessly or inconsiderately and causing serious injury by driving dangerously, carelessly or inconsiderately.

Insp Thomas Marshall said "Driving while intoxicated through drink and/or drugs remains a problem in Guernsey.

"From 2017 to 2021, an average of 103 drink and/or drug drive offences per year were recorded.

"The new laws will give officers new tools to accurately and effectively deal with road traffic offences.

"We will be able to use evidential roadside breath tests for drink drivers and we will be able to use portable drug screening tests, which give an indication of if any drugs are in a person's system and therefore give grounds for an arrest for driving under the influence of drugs.

"The new laws will ensure officers are equipped to keep the island's roads safe and deal with those people that decide to ignore the laws much more efficiently."

Deputy Rob Prow, president of the committee, said: "Updating the existing legislation will allow us to ensure our police officers and prosecutors have adequate charging options to cover all potential driving violations and also to impose appropriate penalties."