Official Statistics

Drugs in reported road fatalities in Great Britain, data to 2024

Updated 30 July 2026

About this release

This report provides a high-level summary of the latest statistics on levels of drugs in road fatalities, based on the more detailed data presented in the accompanying tables. This analysis is largely based on data obtained from toxicology information provided by coroners. Unless stated otherwise, figures for deceased drivers refer to those driving or riding motor vehicles.

The Department is continuing to explore the feasibility of producing statistics on drug-driving in road collisions more widely (including in non-fatal collisions) and there are several caveats and limitations which should be noted, as set out in more detail in the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) report. Any feedback on the content or presentation of this report is welcome to help in the ongoing development of these statistics.

1. Main findings

In Great Britain in 2024:

• the estimated number of fatalities in collisions where one or more of the deceased drivers were over the drug-drive limit for illegal drugs was 120, a 24% decrease on the previous year
• most deceased drivers who were over the drug-drive limit were more than twice over the limit
• illegal drugs were more likely to be found in drivers aged between 20 and 39
• of the drugs detected in deceased drivers, cocaine and cannabis (and their metabolites) were the most often recorded

2. Things you need to know

2.1 Data sources

This release uses data from the STATS19 database and toxicology data from coroners and procurators’ fiscal for fatalities in road collisions. The STATS19 data provides information on the characteristics of the collisions and driver. The toxicology data is used to identify which deceased drivers had illegal levels of drugs in their blood at the time of the collision.

We are exploring alternative data sources. More information can be found in the Conclusion and next steps section.

2.2 Data coverage

Data on drivers over the drug-drive limits are only available where a driver or rider was killed in a road collision on a public highway and a toxicology report was produced. These figures therefore do not represent the full range of all collisions or casualties involving drivers over the drug-drive limit in Great Britain; in particular, they are focussed on drivers who died in collisions.

2.3 Revisions to data

This publication includes revisions to the data for previous years. This is due to minor corrections with how the data has been processed. These revisions have not changed the overarching trends or patterns shown by the data.

2.4 Classification of drugs

The National Programme for Substance Abuse Deaths codes drugs into 9 categories. Of these, there are 3 categories that impair the ability to drive safely:

• medicinal drugs with impairment potential (for example benzodiazepines)
• query drugs: drugs that could be prescribed, used in emergency medical treatment or accessed illicitly for abuse (for example morphine, alfentanil, fentanyl, ketamine)
• illegal drugs: these are drugs that have no medical use according to The Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 (for example cocaine, LSD)

For simplicity, in the following we have referred to drugs in these groups as ‘impairment drugs’. Full details of the groupings are given in the TRL report. This aligns with Section 4 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, which refers to drivers “being unfit to drive through drink or drugs” due to their “ability to drive properly” “being impaired”.

Data on the 17 individual drugs set out in the drug-driving legislation and referred to in Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 has also been explored. Initial results of this analysis are included in the TRL report and we intend to develop this further as part of the planned work to build on the drug-driving statistics.

3. Levels of any drug detected in drivers

3.1 Deceased drivers with alcohol or drugs detected

For motor vehicle drivers and riders killed in road collisions, toxicology information from coroners allows levels of alcohol and other drugs in the body to be estimated, where toxicology is taken and the report is available. However, there are several caveats in interpreting this data, which should be done with caution, particularly for drugs. For example:

• drugs found in the body may have been administered by paramedics at the scene, rather than taken by the road user prior to the collision
• there are limitations about how or when drugs are taken from blood or urine and the time they stay in the body after death

Further information can be found in the technical report produce by the Transport Research Laboratory.

This report sets out the preliminary analysis of the toxicology reports, but additional work is required to further explore this data and we welcome comments and suggestions from potential users of the statistics on whether statistics of this nature are useful or not.

Chart 1 shows the proportion of deceased drivers tested for alcohol or drugs where either substance was detected, whether or not levels were above the relevant limit.

Alcohol or drug use may be more likely to be tested where it is suspected. As a result, the percentage of tested drivers with alcohol or drugs detected may be higher than in the wider population of deceased drivers. Conversely, the percentage with alcohol or drugs detected among all deceased drivers, including those without a toxicology report, is likely to be lower than the true figure, as some untested drivers may have had alcohol or drugs present. The true percentage is therefore likely to fall between these two estimates.

In 2024:

• drugs were detected in 17% of all deceased drivers, compared with 21% in 2023
• drugs were detected in 24% of deceased drivers with toxicology information, compared with 33% in 2023

It should be noted that this covers all types of drugs, not just illegal ones, and includes those who may have been under the drug-drive limit. Therefore, it is not possible to assess the extent of impairment on driving (which in many cases is likely to be low). In addition, changes from year to year should be interpreted with caution, as they may be influenced by factors such as variations in the proportion of deceased drivers with toxicology information available.

Alcohol was detected in 20% of all deceased drivers and 29% of those tested in 2024, compared to 20% and 32% respectively in 2014.

This suggests the presence of drugs in driver fatalities may have increased relative to deceased drivers with alcohol detected over this time period, broadly in line with the road safety factor data shown in the road safety factors section.

Chart 1: Percentage of deceased drivers with any alcohol or any drugs detected, Great Britain 2014 to 2024

3.2 Trends over time by type of drug

Chart 2 shows trends over time. In 2024, the number of deceased drivers in fatal collisions with drugs detected decreased by 19% compared to 2023. However, this is still an increase of over 40% from 2014 figures. While this could reflect changes to testing, the increase since 2014 is broadly in line with that for the ‘affected by drugs’ road safety factor recorded in STATS19 (table RAS0701).

It should be noted that these patterns will be affected by the number of fatalities as well as the availability of toxicology reports in each year, as well as trends in drugs detected within deceased drivers.

In 2024, the majority of drivers, where drugs were detected, had illegal drugs in their body (98), followed by query drugs (59) and medicinal drugs (20). Query drugs are those which may have been administered medically following a collision, but which also can be abused.

Chart 2: Deceased drivers with drugs detected, by type of drug, Great Britain: 2014 to 2024

4. Characteristics of deceased drug-drivers

4.1 Type of drugs detected by age and sex

Chart 3 shows the number of deceased drivers with drugs detected, by age group and type of drug detected. For the period 2014 to 2024, more drugs were detected in deceased drivers in their 30s than any other age group.

Illegal drugs in deceased drivers were found mainly in those aged 20 to 39. Medicinal drugs were found mainly in drivers aged 30 and over.

Chart 3: Type of drug detected, by age group, Great Britain from 2014 to 2024

Chart 4 shows the number of deceased drivers by sex and different drug types detected from 2014 to 2024. Deceased drivers who have any drug type detected (regardless of if they were over the limit) were overwhelmingly male. For both male and female drivers, illegal drugs were the most common type of drug detected.

Male deceased drivers aged between 20 and 39 were the most likely to have illegal drugs detected.

Chart 4: Type of drug detected, by sex, Great Britain from 2014 to 2024

4.2 Individual drugs detected

Of the drugs specified in the drug-drive legislation, there were 15 detected in deceased drivers between 2014 and 2024. Chart 5 shows the number of deceased drivers with each of these drug detected over this period. Multiple drugs may be detected in a deceased driver.

The 5 most frequently detected were cannabis, benzoylecgonine (a cocaine metabolite), cocaine, ketamine and morphine. The latter two drugs can be given as part of medical treatment (as well as potentially being abused) and it is not always possible to determine whether this was the case from the toxicology information provided.

This suggests that cocaine and cannabis are the most common illegal drugs in road fatalities, though caution is required as the behaviour of different drugs in the body after death can vary greatly (for example, cannabis can be detected for some time after use, so that deceased drivers with a positive result for cannabis may not necessarily have consumed it recently prior to the collision; conversely some drugs with short half-lives may not be detected in toxicology testing). Because of this, it can be difficult to determine how impaired a driver may have been at the time of the collision.

Chart 5: Drugs detected in deceased drivers, involved in reported road traffic collisions Great Britain: 2014 to 2024

4.3 Levels of drugs detected

In 2024, 77% of deceased drivers who were tested had no drugs reported. This is similar to previous years.

Chart 6 shows the proportion of deceased drivers with the levels of drugs detected over time.

The number of drivers that had some drugs present but less than the drug-drive limit was around 10%.

Every year since 2014, only a small proportion of drivers were over the drug-drive limit but under twice the limit. Yet since 2016, between 12% and 17% were more than double the drug-drive limit with 14% of deceased drivers being twice over the limit in 2024. This may reflect the nature of the testing done, and the way that the drug-driving limits are set for illegal drugs with a zero-tolerance approach. It should also be noted that the drug-drive limits do not apply to fatalities; they have been used here as guide but the caveats referenced above should be kept in mind.

Chart 6: Levels of drugs detected in deceased drivers, Great Britain from 2014 to 2024

5. Drug-drive casualties

This section only includes collisions with a deceased drivers where drugs were detected. It does not include collisions where a driver was impaired by drugs but survived, as this information is not currently available. Therefore, these numbers are likely to be an underestimate of the total number of casualties in drug-drive collisions.

5.1 Casualties in drug-drive collisions

For 2014 to 2024, deceased drivers with drugs detected were usually the only casualty (killed or otherwise) in the collision. The proportion of other casualties varied between 5 and 12% each year. Passengers of deceased drivers with drugs detected made up 51% of non-fatal casualties in 2024, an increase of 5 percentage points compared to the previous year.

Chart 7: Casualties in collisions where a deceased driver had drugs detected, by severity, Great Britain from 2014 to 2024

5.2 Estimated number of drug-drive fatalities

Chart 8 shows the estimated number of fatalities in collisions when one or more deceased drivers or riders were over the drug-drive limit for illegal, based on the limits set. It is important to note that drug-driving limits relate to tests on living people, and that levels of drugs in the body can change after death. In addition, limits for drug-driving are set low for illegal drugs, as a ‘zero tolerance’ approach. Therefore, these results may not reflect whether a driver was impaired by drugs at the time of death and should be treated in line with the rest of this report.

In 2024, the estimated number of fatalities in collisions where one or more of the deceased drivers were over the drug-drive limit for drugs of abuse was 120, a decrease of 24% compared to the previous year. Since 2016, the estimated number of fatalities has fluctuated between 120 and 160, therefore year on year changes should be interpreted with caution.

The drugs which contribute to the total for drivers being over the legislated drug-drive limits are mainly cannabis or cocaine (or their metabolites). This likely reflects the prevalence of these drugs, how they behave in the body following death, the nature of tests conducted as well as the zero-tolerance nature of the limits.

Chart 8: Estimated number of fatalities in reported road collisions where drugs over the limit were detected in a deceased driver or rider, Great Britain: 2014 to 2024

6. Other data sources

6.1 Road safety factors

When a police officer attends the scene of a collision, they can allocated up to 6 factors that they believe contributed to it. Factors include ‘affected by alcohol’ and ‘affected by drugs’ - which includes prescription drugs as well as illicit drugs. While there are limitations to road safety factor data, and it is likely that some factors are under-reported within STATS19, they provide a high-level overview of trends in drink- and drug-drive collisions.

Road safety factor (RSF) data shows a broad increase in the percentage of fatal collisions which a police officer believed ‘affected by drugs’ contributed to the collision. This includes where this RSF was assigned to pedestrians involved in the collision. In 2024, there was a slight decline from 2023 in the proportion of collisions where this RSF was assigned from 10% to 9%. However, this was after an especially large increase between 2022 and 2023. In comparison, the percentage for ‘affected by alcohol’ has remained steady between 12% and 13%.

Chart 9 shows that while the proportion of collisions with ‘affected by alcohol’ remains higher than the proportion with ‘affected by drugs’, the gap has narrowed compared to 2014.

Chart 9: Percentage of fatal collisions in which road safety factors affected by alcohol or drugs were allocated, Great Britain: 2014 to 2024 (RAS0701)

6.2 STATS19

A drug test variable was introduced within the STATS19 collection following the 2018 STATS19 review. Initial data is available from 2024 onwards, however the roadside drug test completed by the police can only detect cannabis and cocaine. Further information is available in the published report into the impacts of the transition of STATS19 to the new 2024 specification

7. Conclusions and next steps

The production of estimates of drug-driving collisions is in the early stages in Great Britain. These estimates are based on toxicology reports of deceased drivers from coroner reports. The latest statistics data are currently for 2024.

While there are a number of caveats which must be kept in mind, we believe that these results demonstrate early robustness due to the amount of data captured and the broad comparability with for example data from contributory factors.

In the longer term, we intend to develop further statistics as more data becomes available. We aim to explore the data on drug testing that is available from the STATS19 system to capture cases where the driver does not die (as is the case with breath tests for drink-driving). Following a recommendation from the most recent review of STATS19, a drug test variable was introduced within the STATS19 collection. Initial data is available from 2024 onwards, however the drug test completed by the police can only detect cannabis and cocaine. There are currently some caveats with the data collected, details of which can be found in the published report into the impacts of the transition of STATS19 to the new 2024 specification. Once more quality assurance has been done on the data and there is additional guidance for police officers, this may enable us to estimate the overall number of road casualties where one or more driver or rider were over the drug-drive limit for cannabis and cocaine (in a similar way to what is currently done for drink-drive casualties).

Any comments on the analysis above can be provided via the contact details below.

8. Background

8.1 Summary of approach

Producing estimates of drug driving even for road fatalities is not as straightforward as for drink driving, because:

• it is necessary to distinguish between recreational drugs and prescribed drugs that impair driving from those that do not

• unlike alcohol, where there is only one thing to test for, there are many different drugs which can impair driving, with different legal limits. The list of drugs covered in Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 is available

• we also need to determine which drugs found in the body may have been administered by paramedics at the scene, rather than taken by the road user

• there are a number of important caveats relating to how the data is captured which can affect the results (for example whether test are based on blood, urine or other samples, the time between death and a sample being taken and the range of drugs tested for). Drugs detected postmortem are difficult to interpret because drugs are known to pool in certain areas and this distorts findings.

To examine these issues and the feasibility of developing drug driving statistics, the Department commissioned the TRL in collaboration with the National Programme for Substance Abuse Deaths (NPSAD) to undertake a feasibility study on how the drug toxicology data from fatalities in reported road casualties can be used more effectively. This report is available alongside and contains more detail on the above issues and data limitations.

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11. Contact details

Road safety statistics

Email roadacc.stats@dft.gov.uk

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