Roadside checks for heroin and cocaine could be on their way

The proposals for roadside checks were revealed as chief police officers met in Blackpool to discuss the fight against crack.

About 200 people a year die because of drug driving.

The Railway and Transport Safety Bill, which is due to pass through Parliament this week, will give police powers to use roadside screening tests.

These will scan saliva samples, with those testing positive then being tested again at a police station in the same way as for alcohol tests.

Useful weapon

The idea is already being piloted in France and Australia.

The Association of Chief Police Officers is welcoming the roadside tests as a useful weapon in the fight against drug use, as it discusses the issue at a major conference starting on Wednesday.

With the theme Crack Cocaine: Between a Rock and a Hard Place, delegates at the ACPO annual drugs conference are continuing last year's decision to attack harder drugs rather than cannabis.

Parliamentary under-secretary for anti-drugs coordination, Caroline Flint, who recently admitted smoking cannabis, will be at the event.

Norfolk Police Chief Constable and chairman of the ACPO Drugs Sub-Committee, Andy Hayman, said: "With crack cocaine being high on the government's priorities, the police service has been working hard, in partnership with others, to make an impact.

"Since last year's conference much work has been achieved, which can now be shared and built upon this year."

Earlier this year, police in Avon and Somerset held a month long campaign against drug driving in which suspects were asked to perform "impairment tests" - similar to old-style drink driving checks.

Drivers were asked to carry out a set of physical exercises designed to test their co-ordination.