17 January 2025
There has been a 50% jump in drivers killed in collisions where the driver was under the influence of drugs, according to The AA Charitable Trust.
Between 2022 and 2023 drivers killed under the influence of drugs increased from 96 to 144 – the highest for five years.
The figures were revealed in the House of Lords yesterday by Transport Minister, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, in response to a question from the Lord Bishop of St Albans.
Edmund King, Director of The AA Trust, said: “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. A startling 50% increase in drivers killed under the influence of drugs is extremely worrying. We don’t want drivers to be in any doubt – drink, drugs and driving do not mix.
“The police now have effective ways to test drivers for the presence of drugs at the roadside, but these figures show that too many drivers are dicing with drugs and death. Police now commonly use drug wipes known as ‘drugalysers’ at the roadside to check for cannabis and cocaine. The testing kit uses a mouth swab to check for the presence of drugs and a blue line appears if the person has taken them.
“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.”
Offence
The police advise it's an offence to drive with any of 17 controlled drugs above a specified level in your blood. This includes illegal and legally prescribed drugs.
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 (e.g. from passive smoking).
Risks
The biggest risk when driving under the influence of drugs is the risk of causing a collision or deaths.
Driving under the influence of drugs can affect driving in numerous ways:
Drugs can also create a false confidence which can lead to an increase in risk-taking behaviour, which puts lives at risk.
Penalties
Penalties for driving while impaired by drugs, means drivers can receive:
Other problems drug drivers may face include:
“We don’t want drivers to be in any doubt – drink, drugs and driving do not mix.”
Parliamentary question
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people were killed in collisions where the driver was under the influence of drugs in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, (5) 2023, and (6) 2024.
Answer
Answered on 16 January 2025
Data on road injury collisions are reported by police using the STATS19 system. Police officers who attend the scene can assign factors to a driver if they believe that they may have contributed to the collision occurring.
The number of fatalities from collisions where the road safety factor “affected by drugs” was assigned to the driver of a motor vehicle for the years 2019 to 2023 are shown in the table below.
Data for 2024 will be published in September 2025.
| Year | Fatalities |
| 2019 | 90 |
| 2020 | 92 |
| 2021 | 78 |
| 2022 | 96 |
| 2023 | 144 |
There have also been questions in the Commons relating to speeding up the process when it comes to drug driving.