Drug Driving Statistics
On this page
- Drug Driving Offence Conviction Statistics (2015 to 2025)
- Driving or Attempting to Drive a Motor Vehicle While Exceeding Legal Limit of Specified Drugs Conviction Statistics
- In Charge of a Motor Vehicle While Exceeding Legal Limit of Specified Drugs Conviction Statistics
- Driving or Attempting to Drive a Motor Vehicle While Unfit Through Drugs Conviction Statistics
- In Charge of a Motor Vehicle While Being Unfit Through Drugs Conviction Statistics
Drug Driving Offence Conviction Statistics (2015 to 2025)
The following conviction statistics show convictions for drug driving related offences committed in England & Wales in the UK between the years of 2015 and 2025.
Data for each separate drug driving offence includes annual totals for prosecutions and convictions, with convictions further broken down by the reported sex of the driver (male or female) and an additional category for cases where sex was not recorded.
Percentage values shown for total convictions out of the number preceded against and for each sex category out of the number of total convictions. A final row presents totals for the full period.
While this data gives a reliable indication of the number of people proceeded against and convicted of drug driving offences, it should be noted that in some cases individuals may be convicted in a different year from when they were initially prosecuted.
Exceeding Legal Drug Driving Limit Offences
Driving or Attempting to Drive a Motor Vehicle While Exceeding Legal Limit of Specified Drugs Conviction Statistics
The table below shows prosecutions and conviction outcomes for driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while exceeding specified drug limits between 2015 and 2025.
| Year | Prosecuted | Convicted | Male | Female | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,466 | 1,440 98.23% | 1,375 95.49% | 59 4.1% | 6 0.41% |
| 2016 | 5,170 | 4,924 95.24% | 4,619 93.81% | 280 5.69% | 25 0.5% |
| 2017 | 9,015 | 8,642 95.86% | 8,097 93.69% | 483 5.59% | 62 0.72% |
| 2018 | 10,396 | 9,892 95.15% | 9,137 92.37% | 676 6.83% | 79 0.8% |
| 2019 | 12,302 | 11,737 95.41% | 10,749 91.58% | 861 7.34% | 127 1.08% |
| 2020 | 13,739 | 13,354 97.2% | 12,130 90.83% | 1,045 7.83% | 179 1.34% |
| 2021 | 21,259 | 20,214 95.08% | 18,127 89.68% | 1,741 8.61% | 346 1.71% |
| 2022 | 18,135 | 17,272 95.24% | 15,351 88.88% | 1,567 9.07% | 354 2.05% |
| 2023 | 18,128 | 17,262 95.22% | 15,292 88.59% | 1,682 9.74% | 288 1.67% |
| 2024 | 20,659 | 19,720 95.45% | 17,460 88.54% | 2,041 10.35% | 219 1.11% |
| 2025 | 22,306 | 21,322 95.59% | 18,722 87.81% | 2,409 11.3% | 191 0.89% |
| Total | 152,575 | 145,779 95.55% | 131,059 89.9% | 12,844 8.81% | 1,876 1.29% |
Driving / Attempting to Drive a Motor Vehicle While Exceeding Legal Limit of Specified Drugs
For this offence, between 2015 and 2025:
- 95.55% of total prosecutions during this period resulted in conviction
- 89.9% of total drivers convicted of this offence were male
- 8.8% of total drivers convicted of this offence were female
- The number of drivers prosecuted for this offence increased by 1,421.6% in 2025 compared with 2015, rising from 1,466 prosecutions to 22,306
In Charge of a Motor Vehicle While Exceeding Legal Limit of Specified Drugs Conviction Statistics
The table below shows prosecutions and conviction outcomes for being in charge of a motor vehicle while exceeding specified drug limits between 2015 and 2025.
| Year | Prosecuted | Convicted | Male | Female | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 37 | 34 91.89% | 32 94.12% | 2 5.88% | 0 -0% |
| 2016 | 170 | 138 81.18% | 129 93.48% | 8 5.8% | 1 0.72% |
| 2017 | 182 | 172 94.51% | 161 93.6% | 10 5.81% | 1 0.59% |
| 2018 | 204 | 180 88.24% | 163 90.56% | 14 7.78% | 3 1.66% |
| 2019 | 238 | 217 91.18% | 197 90.78% | 18 8.29% | 2 0.93% |
| 2020 | 279 | 258 92.47% | 235 91.09% | 22 8.53% | 1 0.38% |
| 2021 | 526 | 487 92.59% | 427 87.68% | 47 9.65% | 13 2.67% |
| 2022 | 450 | 398 88.44% | 345 86.68% | 37 9.3% | 16 4.02% |
| 2023 | 389 | 356 91.52% | 304 85.39% | 45 12.64% | 7 1.97% |
| 2024 | 550 | 489 88.91% | 413 84.46% | 68 13.91% | 8 1.63% |
| 2025 | 643 | 586 91.14% | 522 89.08% | 56 9.56% | 8 1.36% |
| Total | 3,668 | 3,315 90.38% | 2,928 88.33% | 327 9.86% | 60 1.81% |
In Charge of a Motor Vehicle While Exceeding Legal Limit of Specified Drugs
For this offence, between 2015 and 2025:
- 90.38% of total prosecutions during this period resulted in conviction
- 88.33% of total drivers convicted of this offence were male
- 9.86% of total drivers convicted of this offence were female
- The number of prosecutions for this offence increased by 1,637.8%, rising from 37 in 2015 to 643 in 2025
Impaired by Drugs Offences
Driving or Attempting to Drive a Motor Vehicle While Unfit Through Drugs Conviction Statistics
The table below shows prosecutions and conviction outcomes for driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle while impaired by drugs between 2015 and 2025.
| Year | Prosecuted | Convicted | Male | Female | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,027 | 798 77.7% | 716 89.72% | 78 9.77% | 4 0.51% |
| 2016 | 1,002 | 699 69.76% | 612 87.55% | 81 11.59% | 6 0.86% |
| 2017 | 558 | 477 85.48% | 401 84.07% | 70 14.68% | 6 1.25% |
| 2018 | 550 | 477 86.73% | 412 86.37% | 58 12.16% | 7 1.47% |
| 2019 | 537 | 443 82.5% | 384 86.68% | 57 12.87% | 2 0.45% |
| 2020 | 541 | 440 81.33% | 376 85.45% | 56 12.73% | 8 1.82% |
| 2021 | 716 | 552 77.09% | 460 83.33% | 76 13.77% | 16 2.9% |
| 2022 | 499 | 356 71.34% | 293 82.3% | 58 16.29% | 5 1.41% |
| 2023 | 464 | 345 74.35% | 279 80.87% | 58 16.81% | 8 2.32% |
| 2024 | 474 | 341 71.94% | 276 80.94% | 61 17.89% | 4 1.17% |
| 2025 | 523 | 361 69.02% | 287 79.5% | 69 19.11% | 5 1.39% |
| Total | 6,891 | 5,289 76.75% | 4,496 85.01% | 722 13.65% | 71 1.34% |
Driving / Attempting to Drive a Motor Vehicle While Being Unfit Through Drugs
For this offence, between 2015 and 2025:
- 76.75% of total prosecutions during this period resulted in conviction
- 85.01% of total drivers convicted of this offence were male
- 13.65% of total drivers convicted of this offence were female
- The total number of prosecutions for this offence in 2025 decreased by 49.1% compared with 2015, falling from 1,027 to 523
In Charge of a Motor Vehicle While Being Unfit Through Drugs Conviction Statistics
The table below shows prosecutions and conviction outcomes for being in charge of a motor vehicle while being unfit through drugs between 2015 and 2025.
| Year | Prosecuted | Convicted | Male | Female | Unknown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 86 | 64 74.42% | 62 96.88% | 1 1.56% | 1 1.56% |
| 2016 | 80 | 56 70% | 44 78.57% | 12 21.43% | 0 0% |
| 2017 | 61 | 53 86.89% | 47 88.68% | 6 11.32% | 0 -0% |
| 2018 | 63 | 53 84.13% | 47 88.68% | 6 11.32% | 0 -0% |
| 2019 | 60 | 50 83.33% | 47 94% | 2 4% | 1 2% |
| 2020 | 72 | 61 84.72% | 52 85.25% | 8 13.11% | 1 1.64% |
| 2021 | 99 | 85 85.86% | 68 80% | 14 16.47% | 3 3.53% |
| 2022 | 78 | 55 70.51% | 48 87.27% | 6 10.91% | 1 1.82% |
| 2023 | 54 | 45 83.33% | 39 86.67% | 6 13.33% | 0 -0% |
| 2024 | 64 | 50 78.13% | 44 88% | 6 12% | 0 0% |
| 2025 | 78 | 66 84.62% | 54 81.82% | 12 18.18% | 0 0% |
| Total | 795 | 638 80.25% | 552 86.52% | 79 12.38% | 7 1.1% |
In Charge of a Motor Vehicle While Being Unfit Through Drugs
For this offence, between 2015 and 2025:
- 80.25% of total prosecutions during this period resulted in conviction
- 86.52% of total drivers convicted of this offence were male
- 12.38% of total drivers convicted of this offence were male
- The total number of prosecutions for this offence in 2025 decreased by 9.3% compared with 2015, falling from 86 to 78
Updated: June 2026
What the Data Shows
In 2015, new drug driving legislation was introduced in England and Wales, creating specific legal limits for certain controlled drugs. The changes allowed drivers to be prosecuted for exceeding set drug levels, rather than relying solely on proving impairment.
Since the introduction of drug driving limits in 2015, prosecutions and convictions for drug impairment-based offences have declined, while offences for driving, or being in charge of a vehicle, over the legal drug limit have increased significantly.
Sources