UK plans to crack down on drug-driving to protect the public

5 April 2022

The UK government has issued a call for evidence launched to determine whether convicted drug-drivers should have to complete a rehabilitation course before resuming driving.

• proposals require drug-drivers to undertake rehabilitation courses before being allowed back behind the wheel
• reform would bring penalties for drug-driving in line with drink-driving
• call for evidence helps keep high-risk offenders off our roads and looks at how medical cannabis impacts road safety

Drug-drivers could be required to undertake rehabilitation courses before being allowed back behind the wheel, under new plans to address this underestimated social problem.

Drink-drive related deaths and injuries are now very rare on UK roads, with deaths having fallen 88% between 1979 and 2015. However, there has been an increase in drug-related driving offences, with over 12,000 convicted in 2019 and 44% committed by reoffenders.

Currently, those convicted of drug-driving are handed a driving ban, prison sentence or fine by the courts, but aren’t required to complete rehabilitation courses before resuming driving – unlike drink-drivers.

In the call for evidence, government is asking whether drug-drivers should likewise have to undergo rehabilitation, helping better protect the public.