JUST 74 drivers have lost their licences in Scotland since 2015 for driving under the influence of drugs, raising fears that many motorists who are flouting the law are failing to be detected.
New figures obtained by the Sunday Herald from the DVLA show 22 drivers were disqualified for drug-driving in Scotland in 2015. That increased to 42 in 2016 and by February this year 10 disqualifications had taken place.
In contrast 14,103 drivers were disqualified for the same offence in England and Wales over that time. Legal driving limits for drugs – in a similar way to alcohol – were introduced south of the border in March 2015, along with roadside ‘drugalyser’ tests.
Statistics also show disqualifications for drink-driving in Scotland are more proportionately in line with south of the border - at 6,397 in Scotland compared to 75,976 in England and Wales over the past two years.
Campaigners have warned there is an urgent need for Scotland to introduce new laws on drug-drivers with concerns there could be a “significant number” of motorists who are evading detection.
Gary Rae, campaigns director for road safety charity Brake, said: “Judging from the figures in England and Wales, we could be looking at a significant number of drivers in Scotland who are freely on the road, having taken drugs.
“Scotland led the way in 2015 by lowering their drink drive limit and we would urge them to build on this and implement new laws on drug driving. There’s evidence that the law is working in the other nations of the UK and will work in Scotland.”
Neil Greig, director of policy and research at road safety charity IAM RoadSmart, said: “Yet again these figures show that Scottish police are missing out on a valuable weapon in the fight to make our roads as safe as possible.
“In England roadside drug detection equipment and clear drug limits have allowed police to remove thousands of impaired drivers and crack down on drug related crime.
“The system is now tried and tested and just waiting to be used north of the border. We simply don’t understand why the Scottish Government is dragging its heels on such an important road safety issue.”
Anyone who is found guilty of drug-driving can face a 12-month disqualification from driving, as well as a fine and prison sentence.
It is not possible to tell from the figures whether there are less drug-drivers who are being caught by police or less successful prosecutions.
Police in Scotland have to rely on a ‘field impairment test’ at the roadside – involving a series of coordination tests - for anyone suspected of driving under the influence of drugs and prosecutors also have to prove a person’s driving was “impaired” by drugs to secure a conviction.
Last week, a man was jailed for almost a year after being found under the influence of drugs behind the wheel. Wayne Evans, 34, from Bellshill, was found by police slumped over the wheel of a car, unable to stay awake and slurring his words. After passing an alcohol breath test he admitted to officers he was addicted to GHB, commonly known as the ‘date rape’ drug.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government prioritised lowering the drink-driving limit in 2014 as evidence showed such a policy could help save lives.
“Scotland has long standing legislation used by Police Scotland, prosecutors and our courts that makes it an offence to drive while being impaired due to drugs.
“We are considering very carefully whether evidence shows that specific drug driving limits should be introduced in Scotland and this consideration will include evaluation of the evidence of the impact of drug driving limits that have been introduced in England and Wales.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel