A new study by a road safety charity has laid bare Britain’s drug driving epidemic.
Road safety charity IAM RoadSmart surveyed 2,028 motorists on which substances, if any, they had taken within the 24 hours before driving.
The organisation says a ‘shocking’ one in ten (10%) respondents confessed to have driven while under the influence of drugs.
That’s the equivalent of around 3.5 million motorists in the UK who’ve put themselves and other road users at risk while high.
Cannabis was the most widely used substance, with 5% of respondents admitting to consuming the drug before driving a vehicle. The next most popular substance was cocaine, followed by ecstasy (MDMA) and speed (amphetamine).
Furthermore, 14% of respondents said that they would be unlikely to stop a friend or family member who was planning on driving after taking illicit drugs.
Neil Greig, Director of Policy and Research at IAM RoadSmart, said:
“Our research offers a sobering insight into how Britain’s drug epidemic is rearing its ugly head on our roads. Illicit drugs can profoundly impair a motorist’s judgement, reaction times and alertness while driving, and some of the effects can last for days after a drug has been taken. As can be seen in the DfT statistics, this is causing havoc on the nation’s roads. But with nearly half of the offences being committed by previous offenders, and casualties increasing year-on-year, it is about time that the government took urgent action to address this issue before more lives are tragically lost. And while drug use is a wider issue in the UK, we would strongly urge people who may have taken something not to get behind the wheel and create a dangerous, and potentially fatal, situation.”
The findings come in the wake of IAM RoadSmart’s Safety Culture Report, which studies UK motorists’ driving attitudes and behaviours on key issues over time, which discovered that 58% of motorists believe that driving while under the influence of drugs is a bigger problem compared to three years ago.
The number of drug-driving incidents has reached record highs in the UK, with the Department for Transport (DfT) reporting that drug-related collisions and casualties have surged by over 260% in the last decade, with 44% of these offences being committed by previous offenders.
What’s the answer to the epidemic?
IAM RoadSmart has called on the Government to change the drug prescription process and to develop a dedicated rehabilitation course for offenders.
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