Press Release
The Association of Emergency Physicians (AEPM), Association of Anaesthesiologist and Intensivists of Malta (AAIM), Association of Surgeons of Malta (ASM), Maltese Assocation of Psychiatrists (MAP), Malta Association of Public Health Medicine (MAPHM), Malta College of Family Doctors, (MCFD)Maltese Assocation of Dermatology and Venerology (MADV), Maltese Cardiac Society (MCS), Maltese Association of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine Physicians (MARNMP), Maltese Association of Opthalmologists (MAO), Maltese Paediatric Association (MPA), Malta Association of Otorhinolaryngologists, Head and Neck Surgeons and Allied Specialties (MAOHNSAS), and the Malta College of Pathologists (MCPath) are very strongly in favour of the random testing of drivers for alcohol and other substances, particularly cocaine and cannabinoids.
Emergency Physicians as well as specialists from several other areas within the medical field, are increasingly encountering patients with severe and life-altering injuries as a result of road traffic collisions, reflecting a troubling rise in drug and alcohol use while driving. These incidents not only have devastating consequences for patients and their families, but also place a significant burden on emergency services, hospitals, and the wider healthcare system. The recent marked increase in fatalities should be regarded as an urgent call for decisive and comprehensive action to improve road safety and protect public health.
Driving under the influence is no less than walking around with a loaded weapon while in a compromised mental state, incapable of sound judgement. Would the authorities ever permit such a perilous act?
However, testing alone will not suffice to deter offenders. It must be accompanied by stringent laws that enforce harsher penalties, including the permanent revocation of driving licences. After all, those who have lost their loved ones endure a lifetime of grief, not merely a year or two of sorrow.