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One in Five Admit to Drug Driving

A poll from confused.com has shown that out of 2,000 motorists, 19% have admitted to driving whilst under the influence of drugs. 7% of this being under the influence of illegal drugs whilst the remaining 12% admitted driving after taking prescription-drugs.

The government has recently unveiled new drug driving proposals to make it easier to prosecute drug drivers.

Cannabis was found to be the most common illegal drug that people admit to using (18%), with 10% admitting to taking dangerous class A substances such as cocaine, MDMA and amphetamines before driving.

Gemma Stanbury, Head of Car Insurance at Confused.com, said: “Drug driving is one of the most serious crimes a driver can commit and one that needs to be addressed to make our roads safer. Road safety should be a top priority and in order to achieve this we need to ensure that the right laws, limits and learning are in place here in the UK.

“The introduction of roadside drug testing to identify certain illegal substances is a good step in the right direction, however the ability to recognise and prosecute for all drugs is needed to really clamp down on drug-driving motorists. The good news is that as our research suggests, any increase in penalties or changes to the law has the overwhelming support of British road users.

“Crashes caused by driving whilst under the influence of drugs are totally avoidable – there are far too many drivers willing to risk the lives of themselves and others by getting behind the wheel after taking a dangerous substance. Motorists convicted of drug-driving might also see their insurance premiums rocket and some may find it difficult to find a provider to insure them if they have a previous drug-driving conviction.”

Hampshire Constabulary made the most drug driving arrests between 2011 and 2012 with 195. This was followed by South Yorkshire 155 and Merseyside with 146 arrests.

In a bid to combat the problem of drug-driving, roadside ‘drugalysers’ have been approved for use. These will analyse mouth swabs for traces of cannabis but not for other type of drugs.

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