The number of drivers receiving licence endorsements for drug driving has overtaken those convicted of drink driving, according to new analysis by IAM RoadSmart.
Analysis of DVLA data found that 30,707 drug driving (DG10) endorsements were added to driving licences in 2025, a 28% increase on the 23,981 recorded in 2022. By comparison, drink driving (DR10) endorsements fell by 17% over the same period, from 35,976 to 29,769.
IAM RoadSmart says the figures highlight the growing scale of drug driving and support concerns from police that it has become a more prevalent offence than drink driving.
The analysis also found that young drivers are disproportionately represented. Although motorists aged 17-24 account for around 6% of licence holders, they received 18% of all drug driving endorsements in 2025. More than 1,100 drivers aged 17-19 received a drug driving endorsement, compared with 464 drivers aged 60 and over.
Previous IAM RoadSmart research found that around half of roadside drug tests carried out by police returned a positive result, compared with around 16% of roadside drink drive tests. Separate government data has also shown that 44% of drug driving offences are committed by repeat offenders.
The charity points to Department for Transport collision data showing that drug impairment was recorded as a contributory factor in collisions resulting in 149 fatalities in 2023, compared with 78 in 2015.
Police forces now routinely use roadside saliva tests to detect cannabis and cocaine, while Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Thames Valley Police began trialling a roadside nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”) breathalyser earlier this year.
IAM RoadSmart is calling for further action to tackle the issue, including introducing a national rehabilitation scheme for convicted drug drivers, similar to the existing drink drive rehabilitation programme. It is also urging the Government to consider giving police powers to suspend licences immediately following a failed roadside drug test.
Nicholas Lyes, director of policy and external communications at IAM RoadSmart, said: “It’s becoming clear that the UK is mired in a drug driving epidemic, to the point where it may now be more of a threat on our streets than drink driving.
“Educating people about the misconceptions of the impacts that drugs have on a person’s ability to drive is a start, but police should be given powers to suspend licences at the roadside for failing a drug swab test. In addition, it’s vital that we establish a national drug drive rehabilitation programme.”
Drug driving is illegal where a driver is impaired by legal or illegal drugs, or exceeds the specified legal limits for certain controlled drugs. Convictions can result in a minimum 12-month driving ban, an unlimited fine, up to six months’ imprisonment and a criminal record.
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