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Road Safety Bill [HL]

My Lords, like my noble friend Lord Renton, I feel that the principle of the amendment is good but the practicality is not right. For example, it states that before the issuance of a licence you would have to have that certificate. That may be years away from when you develop the sleep disorder. I do not know whether heavy goods vehicle drivers have to be regularly re-tested, but ordinary drivers do not. Once you have your licence when you are fit and well, if there is an undiagnosed condition later, you will not be aware of it. The problem does not only occur with people with sleep disorders; people who are plain worn out or weary also fall asleep at the wheel. There has been a lot of press publicity recently about the fact that a good thing to take if you are at all tired is a very strong cup of black coffee before you set out on the road. That may be very good advice and perhaps there is need for greater publicity of that. It is worrying because a great number of dangerous accidents are caused by someone either falling asleep or almost falling asleep, suddenly discovering what is happening to them and pulling up. The idea of asking everyone who is to have a licence to produce a certificate from their GP would put a great burden on GPs. This is quite a specialised field. It is not as though every GP has either the equipment or the ability automatically to test for that. The point made by the previous speaker about who will come forward to say, ““I am suffering from this and I would like to lose my job””, is very relevant. That was a sound point. The issue should be considered and people should be made aware in whatever way possible of the risks of sleepiness during driving.