A total of 33,020 drivers have been caught drug driving at least twice, analysis shows.
Figures obtained by the PA news agency published on Saturday show that in the 11 years to July 20, 2024, a total of 112,956 drivers had drug driving (DG10) endorsements placed on their driving licences.
Some 79,936 drivers have one DG10, 23,333 have two endorsements, and 6,256 have been caught three times over the limit.
A total of 3,431 motorists were caught driving over the limit on four or more occasions, including 54 people who were were prosecuted at least 10 times.
One person had been caught driving under the influence of drugs 18 times.
Calls for Rehabilitation Courses
The figures prompted road safety campaigners to call for greater enforcement, as well as for establishing rehabilitation courses to reduce reoffending.
For example, some people convicted of drink driving are offered the chance to have their driving ban reduced in exchange for completing a rehabilitation course.
Nicholas Lyes, policy and standards director at the IAM RoadSmart charity, said, “The fact that so many drivers have been caught multiple times shows the message about the dangers of drug-driving appears not to be getting through.”
Lyes said that evidence shows those taking drink drive courses “are almost three times less likely to reoffend than those who don’t.”
“Ministers must consider expanding similar courses to those with drug-driving convictions,” Lyes said.
“The department takes road safety very seriously, and we are committed to reducing the number of those killed and injured on our roads.”
Record Drug Driving Deaths
Drug driving limits vary depending on the drugs group the substance is in.There are very low limits for eight illegal drugs such as cannabis and cocaine, risk-based limits for eight other drugs which have a medical use, and there is a separate way that amphetamines are handled which manages the balance between legitimate medical use and illicit use and abuse.
DfT figures show that the number of people killed by drivers under the influence of drugs increased from 55 in 2014 to a record 134 last year.
In October, 48-year-old Shaun Mulligan of Seaside, Eastbourne, was sentenced to five years in prison and disqualified from driving for seven years after admitting causing death by careless driving while over the alcohol limit and causing death by careless driving while over the drug limit.
According to Sussex Police, on Nov. 6, 2022, Mulligan had lost control of his Renault Master scaffolding van while he was travelling westbound on the A281. He then hit a Suzuki Jimny driven by 71-year-old Jennifer Allen who was travelling in the opposite direction. Emergency service workers pronounced Allen deceased at the scene.
Mulligan was nearly twice over the alcohol limit and tested over the limit for benzoylecgonine, the chemical breakdown of cocaine.
Earlier this month, 19-year-old Thomas Johnson from Shrivenham was jailed for nine years and four months for causing the deaths of three of his friends in a car crash in Oxfordshire last year.
Johnson had admitted to causing death by dangerous driving of three young men in Marcham in June 2023.
Government Could Review Laws
There are strict alcohol limits for drivers in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, with even tighter restrictions in Scotland.However, the government admits that it is “impossible” to say exactly how many drinks the limit equals as it differs for each person and can affect a driver differently based on their age, sex, metabolism, and when they have last eaten.
Recently, the transport secretary suggested that the government might consider reviewing drink and drug driving laws amid a rising number of deaths.
Heidi Alexander told LBC last week that it “might be time to look at those [laws]” as part of the new road safety strategy, describing it as a “priority” for her.
Drink driving deaths reached a 13-year high in 2022, with an estimated 300 people dying in crashes where at least one of the drivers was over the limit.
