Millions admit to drug driving

10/06/2011

By Sarah Tawton

Around 2.8 million Britons have driven a car while under the influence of illegal drugs, a new report has suggested.

A survey of motorists found that four in 10 of those who had driven while high on drugs had done so within the past year.

And one in 10 drug drivers thought they would get away with it, the poll of more than 2,000 people showed.

Just one in five drug drivers admitted they were a danger on the road, with one three believing they were "very safe" or "quite safe".

Despite this, one in 20 admitted that they had broken the speed limit while on drugs with the same proportion confessing that they had been involved in an accident.

The survey, carried out by research agency Opinium, found that 7 per cent of the UK's 49.1 million adults admitted to driving having taken drugs. Of these, 41 per cent - 1.1 million people - had done so in the past year.

In the last 12 months, one in three drug drivers had used cannabis, one in seven had taken cocaine and one in 10 ecstasy before taking to the roads.