Commenting on the Criminal Justice Statistics released
today which show the number of guilty drug driving convictions in
courts increased by a fifth (19.8%) in 2019*, Edmund King, AA
president, says; “We should all be concerned that the number of
guilty drug driving convictions has increased.
“Drug Driving, like drink driving, is never conducive to
road safety
“Police forces are rightly testing drivers where they see
that driving ability is impaired, and some have seen a record
number of arrests recently**. But we need to get to the root
cause of the problem and stop this before it becomes
endemic.
“While more than a third (36%)*** of people admit they take
recreational drugs like cannabis on a regular basis, they could
be unaware of the consequences drug driving can have.
“More action is needed to improve driver education and to
stop the supply of illegal drugs. ”
ends
NOTES TO EDITORS
* Overview Tables, Tab A6_2 found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2019
** https://www.essex.police.uk/news/essex/news/news/2020/may/record-drug-driving-arrests/
*** See page 15 here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/832533/drug-misuse-2019-hosb2119.pdf
