With the start of the year a large number of New Acts of Parliament have come into operation and one in particular affects the "Publi namely "The Criminal Justice Amendments Act" which alters the system of dealing with motorists, tine they are now on conviction For being intoxicated when driving, to have their licences -automatically suspended for a. year, In these circumstances it is quite natural we should try and reach some definition of what drunkenness Nobody agrees on it.
The existing tests, such as walking. on 'a straight line, pronouncing difficult words and the like, are very unsatisfactory in the lesser degrees drunkenness.. Some men get Gronk in their legs before. their heads, and although perhaps capable 6f driving a motor-car, fo; example, they may. -not ig. able to" walk along, a straight lin Even total abstainers may fail to do that. Another point of importance is that a man may not be drunk before a driving accident and yet fail to pass tests applied after the accident in consequence of added shock.
B. M.A. Called In Accordingly the British Medical Association has done a good work calling into existence a Committee Which is to consider the whole question and to define a really. satisfactory test of intoxication.—The Committee will be very representatives, as will be seen from the fol-Tewing list of members:
Four ex-officio officers of the British Medical Association—Dr. F. G. Thomson (president), Sir Robert Bolam (chairman of council), Dr, H. B. Brackenbury (chairman representative body), and Mr. Bishop Harman (treasurer).
Representatives of Medico-Political Committee of the Association.
Dr, J. W. Bone, Dr. E. R. Fother-fill, Mr. B. B. Turner, and Sir Jenner' Verrali.
Representing the Association Metropolitan Police Surgeons—Dr.
Spurgin, Dr, A. R. Moore, Rose, and Dr. W. J Ko Professor J.T. J. Morrison (police surgeon, Birmingham). Mr. R, F. Graham-Campbell (stipu en diary magistrate, Bow Street). Mr. J. A. R. Gairns (stipendiary magistrate, Thames Police Court).
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.