EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Scottish Road Safety Campaign (the SRSC changed its name to Road Safety Scotland in October 2005 and the new title will be used throughout the remainder of this report) 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 conduct research to investigate the prevalence and social context of drug driving. In particular, this research was aimed at providing the Scottish Executive and Road Safety Scotland with a deeper understanding of the incidence of drug driving and the context in which it occurs.
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.
The key findings from the survey and interviews were:
Over a third (39%) of the people interviewed said they had ever used drugs and 9% said they had done so in the previous twelve months. The 'ever' figure is consistent with previous trends but the 'last twelve months' figure is lower and suggests that this survey might be underestimating the prevalence of drug use among 17-39 year old drivers. After considering the extent of any under-reporting it is estimated that up to 16% might have used drugs in the previous twelve months.
Men were significantly more likely than women to have used drugs ever, and in the previous twelve months. Recent drug use was most common among 20-24 year olds and 30-34 year olds. Those who did not live with a partner were more likely to have used drugs in the previous twelve months. The majority of those who reported any drug use said that they had used cannabis and this use was fairly frequent.
With regard to drug driving, 6% said they had ever driven within a period of using drugs when it was likely that they would have been impaired and 3.5% had done so in the previous twelve months. Again, the potential for under-reporting to have affected this was examined and it was estimated that up to 11% might ever have driven while impaired and up to 6% might have done so in the previous twelve months. The differences between this survey and the survey in 2000 - whether based on adjusted or unadjusted estimates - were not statistically significant, so the conclusion is that the prevalence of drug driving has not changed since 2000.
Men were no more likely than women to have driven while impaired by drugs although this might simply be a reflection of under-reporting since drug use is more common among men. There were no clear age trends. Single people were more likely than people with a partner to have driven under the influence as were people who don't drive often. Those who had drug driven had higher sensation seeking scores than those who had not. The drug most commonly used was cannabis and most of the journeys undertaken while impaired were social.
The explanations that respondents gave for drug driving were mainly centred on two key themes: positive incentives for drug driving and a lack of deterrents to dissuade. The main positive incentive for drug driving is the convenience of having their own transport and being able to make social journeys. There is a lack of disincentive to drug drive because most people do not believe their driving is adversely affected. This view is common in both the survey and the depth interviews. Additionally, most drivers do not think there is a significant risk of being caught by the police.
Both problem drug users and recreational drug users agree that there should be laws against drug driving and would welcome more reliable tests to identify drug drivers.
The extent to which respondents displayed 'sensation seeking' characteristics was measured with a standardised scale frequently used in psychological research on driving behaviour. Sensation seeking refers to individuals seeking novel or intense sensations and being willing to take risks to achieve these experiences. The survey showed that respondents who had reported involvement in the other types of risky driving behaviour had higher sensation seeking scores than those who had not.
There was a relationship between drug driving and other types of risky driving. A higher proportion of drivers who had driven while impaired had also driven when they thought they were drunk, been flashed by a speed camera, had points on their licence or had been involved in an accident in the previous five years.
Thirteen percent of the survey respondents said they had been a passenger in a car driven by someone under the influence of drugs. Almost half said they had been concerned about the individual's driving. Whether or not someone was concerned about the driving depended on their own past drug use and the types of drugs the driver had taken. From the interviews, most of the people who had been passengers had also been using drugs and were involved in social journeys.
Those who had desisted from drug driving were more likely to be with a partner than those who had drug driven in the last 12 months, and to be aware of the implications and consequences of getting caught. Opinions on what would stop people drug driving were gathered and ideas that arose were advertising campaigns, more police on the roads and education in schools.
Several implications can be drawn from the findings of this research. These include:
- targeting campaigns at single men, the group most likely to drug drive
- linking driving campaigns together, as all risky driving behaviours seem to be related to some extent
- making people more aware of the risks involved in drug driving, and
- having more police presence, more effective testing for drugs and more roadside testing for drugs.