RAC: ‘Repeat drug-driving offenders putting everyone at risk’

The number of drug-drivers caught three or more times ‘over the limit’ in the last eleven years is about five-times higher than that for repeat drink-drivers, the RAC has found.

According to analysis of Driver and Vehicle Licensing data, the organisation for motorists reported 12,391 drivers received at least three endorsements on their licence for drug-driving offenses between 2014 and 2025.

Drivers can receive between three to eleven penalty points “for driving or attempting to drive” with an illegal or prescription drug level above the specified limit. Endorsements remain on a driving record for eleven years from the time of the offence.

‘Under-the-radar’

The RAC discovered that 72,662 motorists had at least one drug-driving conviction on their driving licence.

The organisation stated: “One driver has accumulated 18 separate drug-driving convictions, while another has 17. Several others have between 12 and 14 convictions, and 94 motorists currently have eight drug‑driving offences on their record.”

RAC Senior Policy Officer Rod Dennis said: “While it’s drink-driving that tends to attract most of the headlines in the UK, these figures show just how much of a problem the more ‘under-the-radar’ issue of drug-driving is becoming.”

“Drug-driving reoffending rates dwarf those of drink-driving, which suggests that current penalties aren’t effective in preventing some drug-drivers from repeating their crimes and putting everyone at risk.”

Drug consumption

Home Office data from wastewater analysis in England indicates that cocaine consumption increased by an estimated 26 per cent between 2021 and 2025. In the latest figures for last year, cocaine was reportedly the most widely used drug with the highest market value — equating to 123,000 kilograms worth £9.8 billion.

Over the same period, ketamine saw the second largest estimated increase in consumption among illegal drugs detected, rising by 229 per cent over four years.

Scientists calculated that 30,800 kilograms of the dangerous class B drug were consumed nationally in 2025 — a rise of 54 per cent on the previous year — equating to £0.9 billion pounds in illegal sales.