People who drive carelessly should be tested for drugs as well as alcohol, Independent Senator Joan Dillas-Wright believes.She made the assertion during the debate on the Road Traffic Amendment Act 2012 which passed in the Upper House this week.“This whole issue of drugs is a major issue and I know that in the US certainly they can do saliva tests by the roadside because I’m sure we see people who may not be under the influence of alcohol but they may be under the influence of illegal drugs,” said Sen Dillas-Wright.“I know there is also a move afoot in the UK to introduce it. I think this is something that we need to be looking at because there are people who speed who are under the influence of drugs who take a daredevil approach.“At the moment you just look for the careless behaviour and the speeding that might indicate that someone might be under the influence but I think the time will come when we will need to be able to find some method of testing for motorists using drugs.”The Senator said public cautions should be given to motorists taking prescription drugs like Ativan and Valium or sedatives which could affect their response time on the road.The new legislation was piloted in the Upper House by Government Senator Jonathan Smith, who reflected on the tragic death of Tyaisha Cox. The six-year-old died after she was hit by a car while on a pedestrian crossing outside Purvis Primary School in 2003.Mr Smith said the legislation goes beyond that tragedy because it addresses careless driving and driving while disqualified and uninsured.Since her death he said “a number of road safety improvements have been made to pedestrian areas around school zones”.However One Bermuda Alliance Senator Michael Fahy said Government had taken too long to follow through with promises.“Our problem is in respect of what has not happened since the tragic death on what Government’s own statements have been,” said Sen Fahy.“There are a number of simple things that can be done to prevent such a tragedy, like passing a law to prevent passing buses in a lay-by whilst lights are flashing, and raising crosswalks.“Our point is the problem was identified in 2003 and still in 2012 this type of legislation has still not been introduced.“On August 13 2003 then Transport Minister Ewart Brown said, ‘We are coming up with some effective legislation ... to prevent a reoccurrence’. Eight years after Tyaisha’s tragic death and nine years after the problem was identified, the Government [has only made improvements at] ten of 22 schools.“In the midst of budget cuts the Government is going to complete ten in two years when it took them eight years to complete ten, never mind the fact that it was supposed to have done all crosswalks and made them safer.”He continued: “Worst of all, it took Government until mid-2007 to fully complete the promised changes at Purvis the very school crossing where the tragic accident happened.”Independent Senator James Jardine said of the crosswalks in Hamilton: “The lights I find are worse than the old ones in that there is no sounding buzzer when you cross, the red or green light is now low down when we’re all used to looking up and I think it was a grave error to make those changes.“I recognise that the new crosswalk lighting had to be put in place but I think they used the wrong changes and I, for one, would like to see them go back to the way they were before where there is a sound that indicates when it’s time to cross.”Government Senator Kim Wilson said: “What this legislation does is it closes that gap by providing a definition for dangerous driving. In the previous legislation there was no definition for careless driving and we now have a definition for that, before we had an offence with no definition. This goes a long way in so far as addressing those two huge loopholes which have had serious ramifications.Sen Smith noted the original Act was passed in 1947 and since then there had been “no less than 36 amendments” which “illustrates that it is constantly fluid”.“Far from standing still and far from being silent on these issues the Government has passed 15 pieces of legislation in the last 11 years,” he said.Sen Smith said more amendments were on the way which, if “subsequently approved, will further enhance road safety around school zones and around bus stops in particular”.