Illicit Drugs and Driving

The prevalence of driving under the influence of drugs has been causing increasing concern among those involved in the promotion of road safety and has been the focus of much recent research.

In 1999, the Scottish Executive and the Scottish Road Safety Campaign commissioned the first Scottish study to examine the prevalence of, and attitudes towards, recreational drug use and driving among drivers aged 17-39 years. Following the publication of this research, Road Safety Scotland launched an advertising campaign aimed at reducing this figure, although this was subsequently found to have had limited impact.

In 2005, Road Safety Scotland and the Scottish Executive commissioned a team comprising MORI Scotland, the Centre for Drugs Misuse Research at Glasgow University and Professor Steve Stradling of Napier University’s Transport Research Institute to update and extend the 2000 study. In particular, this research aims to inform a more targeted campaign to reduce the prevalence of drug driving.