Crack Down on Drug-Driving
The government is taking action to protect the public and make drug driving as much of a social taboo as drink driving.
They are now calling for evidence to determine whether convicted drug drivers should have to complete a rehabilitation course before resuming driving.
Proposals
The government wants information on:
- proposals requiring drug drivers to undertake rehabilitation courses before being allowed back behind the wheel
- reform would bring penalties for drug-driving in line with drink-driving
- call for evidence helps keep high-risk offenders off our roads and looks at how medical cannabis impacts road safety
Statistics
While drink-drive related death and injuries fell 88% between 1979 and 2015, there were over 12000 convictions in 2019. 44% of offences are committed by re-offenders.
In 2020, 713 people were seriously injured in drug-driving collisions, up from 499 in 2016, and some police forces are arresting more drug drivers than drink drivers.
Current Legislation
Currently, those convicted of drug driving get a driving ban, prison sentence or fine by the courts, but aren’t required to complete rehabilitation courses before resuming driving – unlike drink drivers.
Comment
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said:
“Drink-driving is now rightly seen as a social taboo by most of us in this country and we have worked hard to drive down drink-drive related deaths.
But, if we are to make our roads safer still, there is no room to be lax on drug-driving, which is why I have launched this call for evidence today.
It’s only right that drug-drivers must undergo rehabilitation before getting back behind the wheel, helping protect the public from this hidden problem and stamping out drug-driving for good.
Statistics show non-attendees to drink-driving rehabilitation courses are over twice as likely to commit a new drink-driving offence within 3 years, so by offering high-risk drug-driving offenders the same support, the government hopes to bring down the number of repeat offenders”.
RAC head of roads policy, Nicholas Lyes, said:
“Drug-driving ruins lives and threatens the safety of all road users. We welcome proposals to offer drug-driving offenders rehabilitation courses, in the same way those caught drink-driving are offered them, because the evidence shows this helps to reduce reoffending and improves road safety”.
Professor Kim Wolff, MBE, King’s College London, said:
“I was delighted to see the launch of the consultation on a high-risk offender (HRO) scheme for drug-drivers and the drug driving rehabilitation (DDR) course, as part of an ongoing programme of work being undertaken by the Department for Transport (DfT) to improve road safety.
Data gathered over the last 6 years has enabled DfT to identify through an expert panel very high-risk drug-driving behaviours warranting the need for a righ risk offender scheme, which rolled out alongside the DDR, will help improve driver behaviours as well as provide more general societal benefits.
The call for evidence launched today (4 April 2022) will also ask whether we should bring the way specimens are taken in line with current medical practice by using vacuum blood extraction, decreasing the risk of bloodborne viruses to healthcare professionals.
It will also seek views on the relationship between medicinal cannabis and road safety, in another move to ensure road safety policy keeps up to date with changing societal norms.
This is the first of several steps government is taking this year to reduce the problem of drink and drug driving.
Later this year, government will seek views on other drink and drug driving matters, such as failing to stop after a collision and the criminal use of vehicles.
This follows the ongoing success of the government’s THINK! campaign, which has been educating drivers about the dangers of drink-driving since 2000″.
How Can Cambrian Help?
If you suspect drug driving is an issue in your fleet, we offer a range of telematics devices. Telematics solution will show you where and how your vehicles are being driven. Fleet managers will receive instant notifications on erratic driving and are able to view in-cab camera footage in real-time.
To find out more go to www.cambriancards.com/telematics
Crack Down on Drug-Driving