By Jeremy Sirrell
In a BBC report, it has been revealed that some police forces actually made more arrests for drug driving than for drink driving during the December 2023 period.
To most people, this will seem quite astonishing. The assumption, of course, is that few people take drugs whereas the majority of the adult population (87.5 per cent) do drink alcohol. Why should there be more people stopped for drug driving than or drink driving?
Let’s explore
The answer is that those who drink alcohol have been made well aware of the dangers of drinking and driving through campaigns that have now run for many decades. Being aware of the issues, the vast majority of us take particular care to halt our alcohol intake if driving.
However, the issue in relation to drug driving has been extremely recent and it might be observed that those who take illicit drugs may be much less likely to take a responsible attitude to this matter – although this is not a universal rule.
There is a third reason as well, and that is, very simply, that alcohol is quickly metabolised out of the system so that after drinking, a driver might be over the limit for a couple of hours, but then dip below the limit as the alcohol metabolised out from the body.
However, the problem with drug driving is twofold. Firstly, that the limits above which one commits a criminal offence are set extremely low so that even very small amounts of drugs can trigger a prosecution.
The second is that the tests conducted by the police detect both the active ingredient of the drug, and also the breakdown product of the drug. Some drugs, especially cannabis, may be detected in the blood, not just for hours after smoking a joint but for days.
Indeed, regular cannabis smokers are almost certainly permanently in excess of the limit for drug driving.
The process
The process for investigating drug driving matters is very similar to that for investigating drink driving matters. Drink driving investigations are somewhat streamlined by the use of a breath testing machine called an intoximeter which enables breath test results to be given there and then.
On the other hand, a prosecution for drug diving requires a blood sample to be taken and for the blood specimen to be sent to a laboratory where it is analysed, thus inducing a delay of some weeks or months. Otherwise, the procedure is the same.
The law in relation to drug driving is exactly the same as the law in relation to drink driving. In fact, it is the same section in the road traffic act which has simply been amended to include drug driving.
There have been calls for harsher penalties for drug driving, but these calls are misconceived. The damage that may be caused by someone drug driving is exactly the same as the damage caused by someone who has been drink driving.
The penalties should surely be exactly the same and in the case of severe consequence, such as a death for example, the penalties themselves are very severe.
What defences might be used?
There are a couple of defences open, specifically for those accused of drug driving, one being that the drugs concerned were legal and were prescribed and taken in accordance with doctors’ advice and the second being the unknown ingestion of drugs, for example, by being in a room where others are smoking cannabis.
This latter is very rare but may be open to someone found in that position.
Ultimately, the law around drink and drug driving is about ensuring all road users are safe and operating a vehicle in a legal way.
For advice on the law around driving under the influence, please contact Jeremy.