Drug Driving Laws – Driving Under the Influence of Drugs

Driving under the influence of drugs is incredibly dangerous. As with driving under the influence of alcohol, having drugs in your system while behind the wheel can massively impair your driving skills. The chance of having an accident is increased, putting yourself and others in danger of suffering potentially life-threatening injuries.

In this article, we will explain what constitutes drug driving, the effects of driving under the influence of drugs, how the police test for drugs in your system and the potential penalties if you are found guilty of drug driving.

What is drug driving?

Drug driving is the criminal offence of being behind the wheel of a motor vehicle when impaired through the use of drugs, both legal and illegal. You can also be found guilty of drug driving if you have certain levels of illegal drugs in your blood, even if the presence of the drugs hasn’t impacted on your driving ability.

Although most people would think of substances such as cannabis or cocaine when discussing driving under the influence of drugs, some legal prescription and over the counter medicines can be just as impairing. So, for this reason, you should always read the information leaflet provided with any medicines or ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice before driving.

How can drugs affect your ability to drive?

There are numerous ways that drugs can impact on your ability to drive safely. These impacts will vary from person to person, and depend on the type and quantity of drugs taken. But some of the most common effects of driving under the influence of drugs include:

• Loss of concentration
• Reaction times slower
• Over-confidence, which can increase risk-taking behaviour
• Blurred vision
• Impaired coordination
• Difficulty judging speeds and distances properly

All of the above side effects of taking certain drugs increase the likelihood of causing a road accident, putting yourself, passengers and others in danger.

Drug driving limits

In March 2015 the regulations were updated to include threshold limits for 8 illegal drugs and 8 prescription or over-the-counter drugs. In respect to illegal drugs, the limits have been set very low. This is based on a zero tolerance approach, with the low limits set purely to rule out any claims of accidental exposure, such as passive smoking for example.

The tables below shows the drug driving limits for both the illegal and legal drugs covered by the regulations:

Illegal drug driving limits

Legal or medicinal drug driving limits

How do the police test for drug driving?

As with testing for alcohol, the police can use both roadside tests and police station testing to determine if a driver is under the influence of drugs. The police have the power to stop and test any driver who they suspect could be drink or drug driving.

Roadside drug tests

Testing for the presence of drugs is a more challenging task than testing for alcohol, mainly due to the volume of different drugs. For this reason, there isn’t a simple roadside testing device like the breathalyser for alcohol that can be used to test if a person has drugs in their system.

There is a roadside drug testing kit that can be used to test for the presence of cannabis or cocaine. But for all other drugs, the police will conduct what is called a Field Impairment Test. This tests the driver’s coordination and involves the driver being asked to perform various tasks.

The Field Impairment Test is made up of 5 different tests:

• Being asked to walk in a straight line
• Measuring pupil size
• Having to balance on one leg
• Touching the end of your nose with your finger
• Close eyes and estimate when 30 seconds have passed (called the Romberg Test)

Police station drug testing

If you fail the roadside drug testing or the police suspect that you are under the influence of drugs, you will be arrested and taken to the police station for further drug tests. These tests are performed by a doctor or nurse and will require you to provide a blood or urine sample. This sample will be analysed to check for the presence and level of drugs in your body.

What are the penalties for drug driving?

The penalties for being found guilty of driving under the influence of drugs are the same as those for drink driving. This means that if you are convicted of drug driving, you face the following penalty:

• a criminal record
• a driving ban of at least 12 months
• up to 6 months in prison
• an unlimited fine

The conviction for drug driving will remain on your licence for 11 years.

If a driver under the influence of drugs or drink causes death by dangerous driving, he or she faces a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. They would also be given a minimum driving ban of 2 years.

Punishment for failing to provide a sample for testing

If a driver stopped by the police on suspicion of drug driving refuses to participate in a roadside drug test, they will be committing an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988. This is also the case if a driver refuses to provide a relevant sample of blood or urine for analysis at the police station.

Punishment for failing to provide a sample for testing can be broken down into three offences:

• Refusal to co-operate with a roadside impairment test or breathalyser test. The punishment for this offence is either a driving ban and a fine or up to £1,000 or 4 penalty points added to your driving licence for a period of 4 years.
• Refusal to provide a sample for testing. This offence applies to the refusal to provide a breath, blood or urine sample when requested to do so by police at a police station. The punishment for committing this offence is up to 6 months in prison, a driving ban and an unlimited fine. If a driver is convicted of a similar offence within a 10 year period, they will face a minimum 3 years driving ban.
• Refusal to give content to a laboratory blood test. You must give your consent to have your blood tested in a laboratory for the presence of drugs or alcohol. Refusing to give consent is an offence, with the punishment being the same as those for refusing to provide a sample (as discussed above).

You can still be charged with a refusal to provide a sample even if you change your mind and agree to provide the sample later. This is the case even if the delay between refusal and agreement is only a few minutes.

Refusal to provide a sample on religious grounds is not considered a reasonable excuse. Neither is waiting to receive legal counsel from a solicitor (unless there will only be a very short delay, in which case it may be granted).

If you cannot provide the requested sample due to a medical condition, this can be taken into account as a mitigating factor in any subsequent charge. For this to be a valid defence, a doctor would need to provide verification of the condition, and its impact on your testing ability.

Additional consequences of being convicted of drug driving

In addition to the above penalties that may be imposed, there are a number of other problems that you could face if you are found guilty of drug driving.

• the cost of your car insurance will most likely increase dramatically.
• if you drive for a living you may lose your job
• entering certain countries, such as the USA, can be much more difficult if you have a drug-related conviction.
• having a criminal record may restrict future job opportunities