Testing drug-driving suspects is putting additional strain on the NHS

22 May 2023

Road safety charity IAM RoadSmart recently published a new annual Safety Culture report which says that drug-driving is at an all-time high with a 260 per cent increase in offences over the past decade.

The reports says that drug driving is adding pressure to A&E departments throughout the country which are already incredibly busy.

Responses to an accompanying survey by IAM RoadSmart were also quite worrying. Findings included:

• 1-in-10 people saying they have driven or been a passenger in a vehicle where the driver has been under the influence of illegal drugs.
• 6 per cent of people would be comfortable driving while under the influence of illegal drugs.
• 14 per cent of people would not stop a family member or friend who was planning to drive while under the influence of drugs.

The report also included the following statistics:

• Analysis of Department for Transport (DfT) figures show that there were almost 2,500 casualties in relation to drug-driving in 2021 (a surge of over 260 per cent since 2012).
• The Criminal Justice System Statistics (CJSS) disclosed that the number of drug-driving convictions increased to 12,500 in 2019 - nearly half of which (44 per cent) were committed by repeat offenders. In many cases, the repeat offences occurred within a one-year period.  

According to IAM RoadSmart, there has been ‘troubling’ reports that roadside testing protocols are inefficient, and because a blood sample must be taken by a healthcare practitioner, drug-driving suspects are being taken to A&E departments to provide a sample.

IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Research Neil Greig commented, “With cases surging and attitudes as they are, Britain’s drug-drive picture is a bleak one. IAM RoadSmart has already proposed a smart package of solutions to help address this issue, including developing a dedicated drug-drive course, prescription reform and for the government to finally release the outcome of its own drug-driving consultation”.

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