ISSUES
: Drugs
Chapter 2: UK drug laws
25
Drugs and driving: the law
It’s illegal to drive if either:
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you’re unfit to do so because you’re on legal or illegal
drugs
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you have certain levels of illegal drugs in your blood
(even if they haven’t affected your driving).
Legal drugs are prescription or over-the-counter medicines.
If you’re taking them and not sure if you should drive, talk to
your doctor, pharmacist or healthcare professional.
The police can stop you andmake you do a ‘field impairment
assessment’ if they think you’re on drugs. This is a series of
tests, e.g. asking you to walk in a straight line. They can also
use a roadside drug kit to screen for cannabis and cocaine.
If they think you’re unfit to drive because of taking drugs,
you’ll be arrested and will have to take a blood or urine test
at a police station.
You could be charged with a crime if the test shows you’ve
taken drugs.
Prescription medicines
It’s illegal in England and Wales to drive with legal drugs in
your body if it impairs your driving.
It’s an offence to drive if you have over the specified
limits of certain drugs in your blood and you haven’t been
prescribed them.
Talk to your doctor about whether you should drive if you’ve
been prescribed any of the following drugs:
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amphetamine, e.g. dexamphetamine or selegiline
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clonazepam
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diazepam
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flunitrazepam
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lorazepam
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methadone
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morphine or opiate and opioid-based drugs, e.g.
codeine, tramadol or fentanyl
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oxazepam
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temazepam.
You can drive after taking these drugs if:
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you’ve been prescribed them and followed advice on
how to take them by a healthcare professional
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they aren’t causing you to be unfit to drive even if you’re
above the specified limits.
You could be prosecuted if you drive with certain levels of
these drugs in your body and you haven’t been prescribed
them.
The law doesn’t cover Northern Ireland and Scotland but
you could still be arrested if you’re unfit to drive.
Penalties for drug driving
If you’re convicted of drug driving you’ll get:
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a minimum one year driving ban
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an unlimited fine
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up to six months in prison
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a criminal record.
Your driving licence will also show you’ve been convicted
for drug driving. This will last for 11 years.
Thepenalty for causingdeathbydangerous
driving under the influence of drugs is a
prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Other problems you could face
A conviction for drug driving also means:
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your car insurance costs will increase
significantly
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if you drive for work, your employer will
see your conviction on your licence
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you may have trouble travelling to
countries like the USA.
4 August 2015
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The above information is reprinted with
kind permission from GOV.UK.
© Crown copyright 2016
