Drug driving, dangerous driving and speeding hit record highs in 2021
The most treacherous year ever on our roads: Drug driving, speeding and dangerous driving all hit record levels in 2021… with 206 drink-driving offences committed every day in England and Wales
- Cases of drug driving, speeding and dangerous driving hit record highs in 2021
- There has also been a 13 per cent spike in drink-driving cases in the past year
- Drug driving convictions more than trebled from 7,683 in 2017 to 27,962 in 2021
The scale of lawlessness on the roads is laid bare today by shocking figures showing 2021 was the most dangerous year on record.
Cases of drug driving, speeding and dangerous driving all hit record highs, according to the Ministry of Justice.
Convictions for causing death and serious injury by careless or dangerous driving soared, as did cases in which motorists inflicted serious injury while disqualified. A staggering 206 drug and drink driving offences are committed every day in England and Wales. Convictions for drug driving have more than trebled over the past five years from 7,683 in 2017 to 27,962 last year.
There has also been a 13 per cent spike in drink-driving cases in the past year, with 33,742 motorists hauled before the courts in 2021. The figures correspond to a 7 per cent rise in fatalities last year, with 1,558 people killed in collisions.
Cases of drug driving, speeding and dangerous driving all hit record highs, according to the Ministry of Justice (file photo)
Jack Cousens, head of roads policy at the AA, said: ‘We are worried that the standard of driving has fallen considerably since the pandemic.
‘Too many offences have now reached record highs.
‘If we want to achieve the ambition of zero road deaths we need to level up the standard of driving across the country. With record highs of dangerous driving, drug driving and speeding, it is a timely reminder to every driver that being behind the wheel is a serious responsibility and that poor driving can have serious consequences.
‘Drug driving has increased year on year since records began and while more police forces are carrying out roadside tests, it seems some people are willing to try to chance it.’
A staggering 206 drug and drink driving offences are committed every day in England and Wales
The mother of a girl of six killed by a speeding driver high on drugs and drink walked out of court in fury after he was jailed for just six years.
John Owen, 46, was at almost twice the limit when he lost control of his car and hit Sharlotte Naglis. She was walking home in Stoke-on-Trent last June.
Owen, who had an earlier conviction for drink driving, was doing 48mph in a 30mph zone.
He was jailed for six years and two months and received an eight-year driving ban after admitting dangerous driving.
Sharlotte’s mother Claire Reynolds, 37, said: ‘It’s an insult. He won’t even serve half of the length of Sharlotte’s life.’
Chief Constable Jo Shiner, lead on roads for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said: ‘Since the introduction of roadside screening devices for drug driving in 2015 we have seen an increase in prosecutions for this offence. I am disappointed that people choose to do such a selfish and dangerous thing and I am determined that we will continue to arrest offenders for these crimes every day.
‘Our policing goal remains to save lives and prevent harm by continuing to improve our national information, intelligence and professional knowledge around drink and drug driving and dangerous driving.
‘Innocent people die on our roads every year due to the selfish actions of those who drive while intoxicated through either drink or drugs. The families and loved ones of those killed have no choice but to deal with the devastating consequences of such a tragic and avoidable death.’
A total of 75,159 drink and drug driving offences were successfully prosecuted last year, an average of 206 a day. Dangerous driving convictions have also leapt to the highest level since 2011, with 5,951 last year.
There has been a 9 per cent rise in death by dangerous driving offences since 2020. Careless driving prosecutions went up by 78 per cent.
Convictions for causing serious injury by dangerous driving have also rocketed from 45 in 2013 to a record 604 last year.
Similarly, the number of motorists in court for causing bodily harm by furious driving and cases where disqualified drivers have caused serious injury are at an unprecedented high.
Speeding convictions in England and Wales have increased by 75 per cent over the past decade from 116,595 in 2011 to 203,545 last year.
In an indication of growing lawlessness, there has been an 84 per cent rise in motorists failing to supply information to police when required over the past decade. In total, 732,363 motoring cases resulted in fines or sentences last year, a rise of almost a quarter on 2020.
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