Drivers under the influence of a certain drug have been deemed harder to catch by police than those on alcohol, a major authority has admitted.
It comes after the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner warned the use of nitrous oxide can fail to appear on breathalyser tests.
The substance, also known as laughing gas, is usually inhaled through a balloon, but due to it leaving the body shortly after usage, it can be a "greater challenge," the police warned.
Commissioner Simon Foster has now suggested that more measures need to be introduced to help better detect drivers using the substance as current testing falls short.
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Nitrous oxide leaves the body quickly with breathalyser tests not strong enough to detect drug
PA
The need for better testing systems follows a 19-year-old driver who killed three of his friends while travelling 100mph on laughing gas and crashed into a tree.
Mobile phone footage taken moments before the crash showed the teenagers laughing and passing nitrous oxide canisters to the front of the vehicle, while the driver himself had a balloon to his face.
The driver was subsequently sentenced to nine years and four months in jail for causing death by dangerous driving.
In another case a driver who filmed himself inhaling nitrous oxide received a similar punishment after being caught travelling 100mph and killing a passenger in the vehicle.
Rashad Mahmood, a Labour Councillor for Birmingham Sparkhill,said: "How are we going to tackle the usage of nitrous oxide gas while driving? This has caused fatalities in the last few years.And how are we going to tackle the businesses which are selling nitrous oxide gas?"
Being in possession of laughing gas only became a criminal offence a few years ago in 2023, with police able to seize and arrest individuals caught with the containers.
Mahmood added: "In terms of being able to regulate the use of nitrous oxide by people who are driving, my understanding it's a greater challenge to do that for nitrous oxide than it is perhaps for other drink and drug-driving.
"I don't think there is a test that can be used as there can, for example, in relation to a breathalyser or blood test for drug use."
At a recent Bradford Council meeting, Councillor Ralph Berry demanded urgent action into the use of nitrous oxide in vehicles.
He said: "It's a lethal problem in this city. We all see these blue canisters everywhere. But we also see the wrecked lampposts and the lives damaged."
Under UK law, drivers caught drug driving could receive a criminal record, a maximum penalty of six months in prison, as well as an unlimited fine. But in more serious cases, they could be banned from driving for three years if they have been convicted of two offences in the last 10 years.
Recent figures by the AA Charitable Trust revealed that drug-related driver deaths have surged by 50 per cent in a single year with the number of fatalities involving drivers under the influence of drugs up from 96 in 2022 to 144 in 2023.
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Possession of nitrous oxide became illegal in 2023
PA
Edmund King, Director of the AA Trust, said its message to drivers has always been, "if you are going to drive, don't drink and if you are going to drink, don't drive," but has since adapted the messaging to include drugs.
