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Families who have lost loved ones to drivers under the influence of drugs are urging for stricter powers to be granted to police, allowing them to immediately revoke a driver’s licence at the roadside if there is suspicion of drug use. One such family is that of Charlie Ward, whose father Steven Ward was fatally hit by a drug-impaired driver. Charlie described the loss as “heartbreaking,” lamenting that her father would never have the chance to walk her down the aisle.
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) supports these calls and is pushing for legal authority to impose immediate driving bans when a roadside saliva drug test returns positive, while officials wait for confirmatory blood test results. Currently, confirmation of drug presence can take several weeks due to laboratory processing times. The government insists that motorists caught driving under the influence face severe penalties, including fines and imprisonment.
Steven Ward, aged 62, died in 2024 after sustaining fatal head injuries when he was struck by a car in Englefield Green, Surrey, very close to his home. The driver, Samuel Russell, 37, from Sutton, was found to be over ten times the legal drug-driving limit and nearly three times above the alcohol limit. Russell, who had a history of drink-driving offenses and reportedly used substances to self-medicate mental health issues, was sentenced to jail after admitting to causing death by dangerous driving. Charlie Ward reflected on the incident, explaining that the driver had been speeding and veered onto the pavement, hitting her father from behind while he was walking. She also spoke of the trauma her mother experienced, hearing the crash and witnessing the emergency response unfold just a few doors away.
Similarly, Linzi Stewart’s brother, Tim Burgess, was killed in 2024 by a driver in Cheshire who was high on cocaine and alcohol. Despite being arrested days prior for reckless driving, the driver still retained his licence until eventual imprisonment for 12 years. Stewart is advocating for legislation that would allow immediate licence revocation for drivers caught under the influence, pending trial. Her campaign, supported by nearly 200,000 signatures, also calls for repeat offenders to be held in custody until they appear in court. She stressed the urgency of legal changes, noting, “People think they can just do it and get away with it.”
Official data highlights a worrying trend, showing a 78% rise in fatalities involving drug-driving between 2014 and 2023. Presently, drivers suspected of drug-driving undergo a field impairment test at the roadside, alongside a preliminary saliva sample; however, the subsequent confirmatory blood tests can take around eight weeks for results, leaving a gap in enforcement. NPCC’s Chief Superintendent Marc Clothier emphasizes the need for interim measures, such as “road risk prevention notices” or provisional disqualifications, to prevent potentially dangerous drivers from remaining on the road while investigations proceed. High-profile advocates, including Sussex Chief Constable Jo Shiner—who lost her father in a crash—have also called for faster and more effective licence revocations to enhance road safety.
While the Department for Transport states it is working with police agencies to improve the efficiency of testing processes without compromising result integrity, some experts believe current laws already allow for more proactive interventions. Motoring lawyer David Barton suggests that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) should work more closely with police to revoke licences of habitual drug offenders. On the front lines, Detective Sergeant Chris Wade from Kent has witnessed a sharp increase in drug-impaired driving, noting that attitudes toward drug-driving have not evolved as much as those toward drink-driving. He remarked, “If you’d have told the 19-year-old me when I joined the organisation that was going to happen I wouldn’t have believed you.”
The most recent Ministry of Justice figures indicate a 14% increase in convictions for drug-driving offenses in the year leading up to June 2025, with 28,179 recorded cases—almost double the number from five years earlier. In response, a government spokesperson reaffirmed commitment to road safety, pointing to the newly introduced Road Safety Strategy, the first of its kind in over ten years
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