Call to close drug-driving roadside test loophole

The Government is being urged to update drug-driving legislation and allow police to take evidential saliva tests at the roadside. 

Currently, if a driver tests positive at the roadside, police must obtain an evidential blood sample, which is not always possible. 

Even when it is, there can be a delay of up to six months before results return from the laboratory, during which time the offender remains free to drive.

Furthermore, an unknown number of drug drivers evade justice entirely when labs fail to return results within those six months, the legal deadline for police to authorise charges for road traffic offences such as drink and drug driving.

To coincide with the 10th anniversary of the introduction of drug-driving legislation, the AA and Dtec International, a UK supplier of a roadside screening device used by all 43 UK police forces, say that this crucial reform would close loopholes that allow drug drivers to evade justice and help save lives.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: “Drug driving is fast becoming a major road safety concern which needs urgent action.

“Modernising the prosecution process can help take more dangerous drivers off the road, while keeping costs down for police forces. 

“Similarly, just one in 10 believe that drug drivers will be caught and prosecuted which often means people feel they can get away with it.

“Hiring 1,000 more roads police, as well as allowing saliva samples as evidence will stop people getting behind the wheel after taking illegal substances.”

Australia has been using immediate, roadside evidential saliva sampling for nearly two decades, combining this with laboratory testing for rapid case resolution.

With the Crime and Policing Bill introduced in Parliament last week, the AA and Dtec say that the Government has a key opportunity to address drug driving. 

They argue that the Bill could include provisions for evidential roadside saliva testing for drug driving. Otherwise, they say that the Government, Home Office, Department for Transport (DfT) and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) must work collaboratively via another mechanism to deliver legislative reform.

Ean Lewin, managing director of Dtec International, said: “For over a decade, we have allowed a broken system to keep drug drivers on our roads while victims and their families continue to suffer. 

“Right now, a driver who fails a roadside drug test can legally remain behind the wheel for up to six months - and if they plead not guilty, potentially for over a year. 

“This is solely because outdated laws force police to rely on impractical blood confirmation testing, plagued by inherent laboratory delays. 

“Worse still, an unknown number of offenders escape justice entirely when these delays exceed the six-month prosecution window. That is nothing short of a national disgrace.”

He added: “If the Government is truly committed to public safety, I urge the Home Office, the Department for Transport, and the Ministry of Justice to act now. 

“The solution is simple: allow police to take immediate roadside evidential saliva samples.”

More than half of motorists pulled over by the police on suspicion of drug driving fail roadside testing, according to recent research from IAM RoadSmart.

The UK road safety charity submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) to all 45 police forces in the UK, with 31 forces providing data, including the Metropolitan Police.

According to the FOI more than half (51%) of drivers tested positive during roadside testing in 2023, while in 2024, 49% of drivers tested positive in the first seven months of the year.

This is based on failure rate data provided by 17 of the 31 police forces that responded to the FOI request.

This is in addition to DfT figures that showed the number of deceased drivers with ‘impairment drugs’ present had increased by over 70% from 2014 to 2022.

Further figures revealed in the House of Lords in January, showed that drug-driving deaths are at their highest level for five years.

Between 2022 and 2023, drivers killed under the influence of drugs jumped from 96 to 144.