Half of drivers drug tested at the roadside are over the legal limit as safety groups warn of 'growing epidemic'

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Half of drivers pulled over on suspicion of drug-driving are found to be over the legal limit, an investigation has found, sparking calls for minsters to take fresh measures to tackle the 'growing epidemic'.

Police figures obtained by motoring safety charity IAM RoadSmart indicate 51 per cent of motorists drug tested at the roadside in 2023 returned positive results.

Data for the first seven months of 2024 also showed nearly half of drivers drug tested were in excess of the limit.

This is based on figures provided by 17 out of 45 police forces across the UK in response to Freedom of Information requests by the road safety group.

Drug-driving rules consist of very low limits for eight illegal drugs such as cocaine and cannabis, risk-based limits for eight drugs that have a medical use, and a separate approach to amphetamines that aims to balance legitimate medical use with abuse.

Roadside swab tests - commonly referred to as 'drugalysers' - are carried by road cops and can identify whether a motorist is under the influence of cocaine or cannabis.

If an officer thinks a driver is unfit to drive because of taking any drugs, they are arrested and transported to a police station to undergo blood or urine tests to identify if they have illegal levels in their system.

Half of motorists pulled over on suspicion of drug-driving fail roadside drug tests, an investigation has found

In order for police officers to conduct a roadside drug test they must have reasonable suspicion that a driver is under the influence.

It is an offence to drive with any of 17 controlled drugs above a specified level in your blood.

Limits set for each drug are different, and for illegal drugs the limits set are extremely low. They aren't zero to rule out any accidental exposure (from example, from passive smoking). 

Anyone convicted of drug driving may receive a year's driving ban, an unlimited fine, up to six months in prison and a criminal record.

Offenders will also have a drug driving conviction on their licence for 11 years.

In the most serious cases where a driver causes death by careless driving under the influence of drugs, the minimum sentence is life imprisonment.

The PA news agency reported last month that 3,431 people were caught drug-driving on four or more occasions in the 11 years up to July 2024.

Department for Transport figures show the number of people killed in crashes on Britain's roads when a driver was impaired by drugs rose from 55 in 2014 to a record 144 in 2023.

Figures for 2024 will be published by the DfT in September. 

Drug-driving rules consist of very low limits for eight illegal drugs such as cocaine and cannabis, risk-based limits for eight drugs that have a medical use, and a separate approach to amphetamines that aims to balance legitimate medical use with abuse

Roadside swab tests - commonly referred to as 'drugalysers' - are carried by road cops and can identify whether a motorist is under the influence of either cannabis or cocaine

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Last October, Shaun Mulligan, then 48, of Seaside in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was given a five-year prison sentence and disqualified from driving for seven-and-a-half years after admitting causing death by careless driving while over the limit for drugs and alcohol.

He crashed a scaffolding van into a car travelling in the opposite direction on the A281 near Henfield, West Sussex, in November 2022, killing its 71-year-old driver, Jennifer Allen.

Mulligan tested positive for benzoylecgonine – the chemical breakdown of cocaine – and was nearly double the drink-drive alcohol limit.

IAM RoadSmart policy manager William Porter said: 'The fact that one in two motorists are failing roadside drugs tests shows that the message about the dangers of drug-driving is not getting through.

'Separate research by IAM RoadSmart indicates that one in seven drivers aged 17-to-34 admitted to getting behind the wheel after taking Class A drugs, indicating how vital it is to tackle this growing epidemic.

'We urgently need a new approach to combat drug-driving which focuses on both greater enforcement and establishing rehabilitation courses to reduce reoffending.

'The evidence shows that those taking equivalent drink-drive courses are almost three times less likely to reoffend than those who don't.

'Ministers must consider expanding similar courses to those with drug-driving convictions.'

Official figures show that 3,431 people were caught drug-driving on four or more occasions in the UK in the last decade as road safety groups call for increased measures

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Edmund King, AA president, adds: 'Traditionally our safety message to drivers has always been: if you are going to drive, don’t drink and if you are going to drink, don’t drive. 

'But now it is essential to update that messaging to include drugs.'

King went on: 'The police now have effective ways to test drivers for the presence of drugs at the roadside, but figures show that too many drivers are dicing with drugs and death. 

'We need drivers and their passengers to be well aware that drugs and driving don’t mix and when it comes to drugs or drink when driving, the best advice is none for the road.'

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander recently hinted that drug-driving rules could be toughened as part of a road safety strategy being developed by the Government.

A DfT spokesperson said: 'We take road safety extremely seriously and there are already strict penalties in place for those who are caught drug-driving.

'Our roads are among the safest in the world, but we are committed to improving road safety and reducing the number of those killed and injured on our roads.'