The family of a man who was killed by a driver high on drugs and alcohol out on bail have sent a letter to the government calling for the use of roadside saliva drug-tests to take dangerous drivers off the road.
Linzi Stewart, 49, has written to the Home Office to update legislation to allow roadside saliva samples to be used as evidence to prosecute drug drivers and take them off the road - rather than having to wait for a blood sample to be processed.
Her brother, Tim Burgess, 48, was the passenger in a car driven by his girlfriend on 18 July last year, when Joshua Eldred, 31, ploughed straight into the car while on the wrong side of the road, and under the influence of alcohol and cocaine.
After his death, Mr Burgess’s family were shocked to find that Eldred had a previous driving conviction from three years earlier, and had been arrested just days before on suspicion of crashing into a parked car and fleeing the scene.
He had been released on bail - with a valid driving licence - while police waited for the results of his blood tests, which later showed he had taken cocaine and drunk alcohol.
Mr Burgess’s family have said his death could have been prevented if a faster saliva test could have been used as evidence in court instead of the required blood test or his licence been revoked.
“Under current law, police must then obtain an evidential blood sample, which is not always possible. Even when it is, there is a shocking delay of up to six months before the results return from the laboratory - during which time the drug driver is free to continue driving,” Ms Stewart wrote in the letter to the Home Office.
“We firmly believe that the failings in this time-consuming and flawed system played a significant role in Tim’s tragic and needless death.”
Countries such as Australia and France are already using evidential saliva roadside testing.
Ms Stewart is also calling for the government to implement stronger laws to include dangerous drivers to either have their licence revoked or be remanded in custody.
After launching a petition signed by over 157,000 people, Ms Stewart is calling for action - and is hoping to bring her petition to No10 in the near future.
“When the police said he had been arrested before our mouths dropped,” Tim’s sister, Linzi Stewart, 49, from the Wirral, told The Independent.
“We were shocked and horrified. Why was this man allowed on the road?”
She added: “He was released on bail and free to get back behind a wheel and offend again. And then my brother died.”
Tim, the “gentle and kind” father of 15-year-old Lillianna, was a much-loved house music DJ before his death last year.
He was sat in the passenger seat of a Suzuki Celerio driven by his girlfriend, Wendy Wall, when Eldred drove into them at more than 65mph on A533 Runcorn Road, Little Leigh, at about 9.15am.
Minutes later, he died in Wendy’s lap.
Eldred was sentenced to 12 years in prison at Chester Crown Court on October 25 2024 after pleading guilty to causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving. He has also been banned from driving for 10 years, after which he will be required to complete an extended driving test.
“We started the petition because we need the government to do something urgently. The system is just not good enough and needs reviewing for dangerous drivers - there is too much complacency around road deaths,” Ms Stewart said.
“The months since Tim’s death have been horrific. It is so painful. But we can’t just sit here and do nothing, we want to make a change.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We take road safety extremely seriously, and there are already strict penalties in place for those who are caught drink or drug driving.
“We are committed to improving road safety, and our well-established THINK! campaign is designed to reduce the number of those killed and injured on our roads."
To support Linzi’s petition visit: www.change.org/p/tim-s-law-remand-dangerous-drivers
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