Feature: Roadside swab tests see drug driving arrests soar by 800 pct in Britain

The number drivers arrested in Britain for driving while under the influence of drugs has rocketed by 800 percent, figures revealed Sunday show.

The rapid rise in just a year follows the government's introduction of tough new laws to catch and convict drug-driving offenders, with initial figures from police forces across England and Wales showing the instant impact.

Under the new drug-driving laws once suspects are charged, 98 percent have been convicted in the courts.

Police forces have been issued with new easy-to-use roadside swab test which can catch drug offenders, introduced on March 2 last year.

The government has given an additional 1.4 million U.S. dollars to train police officers, purchase drug screening equipment and pay for samples to be analysed.

To mark the first anniversary, the government is launching a new national campaign targeted at young men who are most likely to drug drive -- to make it clear that if they drug drive, they're more likely to be caught and convicted as a result of the roadside swab.

Government Road Safety Minister Andrew Jones said Sunday: "Thanks to our tougher law, police are catching and convicting more dangerous drivers.

"The government will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with police as they work tirelessly to protect the public while recognising enforcement alone is not the answer. We need to educate and influence behaviour change which is why we are pushing on with our THINK! campaign, which has helped change attitudes towards drink-driving and ultimately save lives," said Jones.

One British police force covering the county of Cheshire show that police officers arrested eight times as many suspected drug drivers than in 2014, with over 530 arrests from March 2015 to January 2016 -- up from 70 in the whole of the previous year.

Cheshire's chief constable Simon Byrne said: "Cheshire's figures speak for themselves. We have taken a no nonsense approach to using this new legislation as part of our wider work to target criminals who use our road networks."

Tougher drug drive laws in England and Wales have made it illegal to drive with 17 controlled drugs above a specified limit in the blood. Motorists who get behind the wheel after taking illegal drugs face a criminal record, a ban from driving for at least a year and an unlimited fine. It remains an offence to drive while impaired, by any drug at any amount.

Drugs that can be tested for at the roadside are cannabis and cocaine, while a laboratory test can identify all the drugs covered by the new law including ecstasy, LSD, ketamine and heroin. Endit