Illicit Drugs And Driving

The prevalence of driving under the influence of drugs is causing increasing concern among those involved in the promotion of road safety.

The Scottish Road Safety Campaign and Scottish Executive commissioned a team comprising Ipsos, the Centre for Drugs Misuse Research at Glasgow University and Professor Steven Stradling of Napier University's Transport Research Institute to conduct research to investigate the prevalence and social context of drug driving.

The research consisted of a survey of 17-39 year old drivers and qualitative interviews with problem drug users, recreational drug users and people who had been passengers of drug drivers.

Main Findings

• The proportion of people who said they had ever taken drugs was consistent with previous surveys (39%). However, fewer people said that they had taken drugs in the past 12 months compared with the 2000 drugs and driving survey (9% in 2005 compared with 15% in 2000).
• With regard to drug-driving, 6% had ever drug-driven and 3.5% had done so in the last 12 months. There was no significant change between the prevalence recorded in 2000 and that recorded in 2005.
• Two main explanations for drug driving emerged from the depth interviews. First, driving after using drugs was simply more convenient than using another form of transport. Second, there is a lack of deterrents to drug-drive.
• All risky driving behaviours (e.g. drunk-driving, speeding) appear to be linked through the personality characteristic of "sensation seeking". Respondents who had drug driven had higher sensation seeking scores than those who had not.
• 13% of survey respondents had been a passenger of a drug driver. From the depth interviews it was clear that most of the people who had been passengers had also been using drugs and were making social journeys.
• Those who had desisted from drug driving were more likely than those who had drug-driven in the last 12 months to be with a partner. They were aware of the consequences and implications that getting caught could have.

For further information, please visit the Scottish Executive website.

Technical Details

Ipsos Scotland conducted 1,031 interviews with 17-39 year old drivers between May and June 2005. A random sampling method was used and households were screened for the presence of eligible respondents. The study had a response rate of 74%. The data were weighted to account for the selection of one adult in households containing more than one eligible respondent. No further weighting was required.

For the qualitative element of the research, a total of 75 in-depth interviews were conducted with problem drug users, recreational drug users and people who had been passengers of drug drivers.