A YouGov survey commissioned by drug and alcohol testing company Concateno has shown that 92% of people agree with the statement that drug driving is as socially unacceptable as drink driving.

The majority - 91% - would also support roadside drug testing.

The survey also revealed that 3% admit to having driven under the influence of drugs, a figure that rises to 7% for younger drivers (those aged 25-34).

 

 

Key findings:

 

  • 91% would not object to being tested at the roadside for drugs, a significant finding in light of the government’s consultations on improving road safety and reducing deaths and injuries on UK roads 
  • 7% of 25-34 year olds admit to driving under the influence of drugs, more than double the average for all ages.
  • For all ages, the drug driving figure is 3%, compared to drink driving at 18%. For 24-34 year olds this gap is narrower – 15% have driven after drinking, compared to 7% after taking drugs
  • 92% overall agreed with the statement that ‘drug driving is as socially unacceptable as drink driving’, but this drops to 81% for 18-24 year olds, with 13% of this group disagreeing with the statement

Commenting on the findings, Iain Forcer, roadside drug testing spokesman for Concateno, said: “Drug driving has been moving up the road safety agenda and is now recognised as a real problem where – as with drink driving – the actions of an irresponsible minority can cause a great deal of harm.

“The survey has shown that this problem is more acute with younger generations, although perhaps surprisingly it is the so-called ‘Trainspotting generation’, those in their late-20s and early-30s, who are most likely to have driven under the influence of drugs, rather than teenagers and those in their early 20s. As many as one in 14 of the 25-34 year old group admit to drug driving, which is worrying as this represents hundreds of thousands of drivers across the UK.

“It’s also a concern to see that fewer 18-24 year olds see drug driving as being as bad as drink driving. This really emphasises the importance of awareness programmes like the Department for Transport’s summer campaign, to improve education on this subject with young people. Having said that, the great news is that the vast majority of people take a pretty dim view of drug driving, with nine out of ten saying that it is as unacceptable as drink driving.”

 

The survey also indicated that the introduction of roadside drug testing could be well received by the general public.

Two Department for Transport consultations in 2009, ‘A Safer Way’ and the ‘Road Safety Compliance’ consultation indicated that a new offence of driving with an illicit substance in the body that is known to be impairing could be created.

Enforcement of such an offence would require police forces to be able to prove drug driving in much the same way as drink driving by carrying out an initial test of the driver at the roadside.

 

“The survey indicates that testing at the roadside won’t be a controversial step,” said Forcer.

“Nine out of ten people say that they wouldn’t object to taking a test. Our experience of roadside drug testing in other countries suggested that this could be the case in the UK, but even so we were still a little surprised by the strength of support shown in the survey as little public education has been done on this subject. This is perhaps a consequence of 40 years of alcohol breath tests, which means that the British public actually have a very mature understanding of how enforcement measures like testing can help keep us all safer when we drive.”