Huge rise in the number of drug-drivers on our region's roads

It's since new technology was introduced to help police catch offenders.

Published 13th May 2016

The number of people caught drug driving in North Yorkshire has more than doubled in the last year.

91 drivers were charged in 2015 - whereas the year before it was 45. That's over a 100% increase.

It comes after new roadside technology was introduced to help catch offenders.

Andrew Ingram is a traffic officer at North Yorkshire Police and says people need to be aware of the consequences:

"I've dealt with road traffic collisions with drug drivers where barriers have gone through the vehicle and had there been a passenger in the vehicle they would most certainly have been killed. It is just senseless and my message is to people that if you do drug drive, we are going to target you and take you off the road because you are a potential killer.

"They have got no compassion for anything. If they are involved in a collision, they are not bothered about the families that are potentially losing a loved one. It's still to this day the worst part of my job having to knock on the door and let someone know that their loved one has died because of a senseless driver.

"They always say to me well it's not like drink-driving, I'm not affected by it and it's because they've been doing it a while now so they don't feel it affects them so they feel they are okay to drive. It depends which drug they are on but they can experience hallucinations, drive on the wrong side of the road when they actually think they are on the right side.

"I'm getting more drug drivers than I am drink drivers. There are a lot of people on drugs and then driving and until now we just haven't had the technology to detect it. The new swab test has been an immense tool in the fight against drug-driving."