UK drug driving sparks concern among police forces

National policing campaign Operation Limit has highlighted the issue of drug and drink driving in the UK.

During the 2024 campaign, 508 arrests were made in Merseyside, over two thirds of which were for drug driving. In West Yorkshire, a third of the 279 people arrested for driving offences were under suspicion of using drugs. In the previous year’s campaign almost 50 per cent of drug tests returned positive results, compared to 9.5 per cent of alcohol breath tests.

Drink driving accounts for around one in six fatalities on UK roads. There has also been a general rise in alcohol-related deaths, with 8,200 deaths attributed to alcohol in 2023 – a 42 per cent rise on 2019.

‘Unacceptable’

Roads Policing Chief Inspector Stuart McIver said: “Driving under the influence – whether that’s drugs or alcohol – is absolutely not acceptable. I feel frustrated that, clearly, some people still aren’t getting the message.”

Emily Spurrell, Merseyside’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “these figures demonstrate that too many people are still risking the lives of other innocent road users as well as their own.

“It is illegal and totally unacceptable to drive under the influence. It destroys lives and the devastation for victims’ families lasts a lifetime.”

Drug driving

Ean Lewin, Managing Director of D.tec International, a company that provides drug detection equipment, explained: “Last year’s Operation Limit campaign exposed a sobering truth: drug driving is on the rise, and in some areas, it has overtaken drink driving as the primary concern.

“This shift reflects a troubling societal trend – a normalisation of drug use that many drivers fail to recognise as dangerous or illegal when combined with getting behind the wheel.”

He added: “Unlike drink driving, which has rightly been stigmatised over decades, drug driving remains misunderstood.

“Many drivers don’t appreciate how long substances can stay in their system or that police forces now have highly effective roadside testing capabilities. This ignorance is costing lives, and we must act decisively to address it.”