Surrey Police Crackdown Shows Serious Rise In Drug-Driving

Published on: 13 Jan, 2025
Updated on: 13 Jan, 2025

By David Reading

Surrey police officers arrested 140 people for drug driving in December, nearly double the number of drink driving arrests during the same period.

More than 8,000 vehicles were stopped as part of Operation Limit, the month-long winter crackdown on drink and drug driving.

One of the drug tests conducted by Surrey Police.

Altogether there were 196 arrests, 140 for drug driving and 84 for drink driving.

Those arrested included a driver who tried to do a U-turn to avoid a check site in Guildford. The driver was intercepted and arrested for drug driving, possession of cannabis, having no insurance and driving with a bald tyre.

Drink and drug driving are major causes of fatal or serious injury collisions on Britain’s roads, and police say their results for December show how drug driving is becoming increasingly more prominent in Surrey than drink driving.

The police conducted increased patrols and set up random stop check sites along busy roads to provide a visible deterrent to offenders, and during December 8,847 vehicles were stopped and checked, up from 5,023 in the previous year’s campaign.

Four people arrested for drink driving in a single night.

In Hersham, a driver and passenger were arrested at a check site after a vehicle search uncovered a large amount of cash and Class A, B, and C drugs.

Superintendent Rachel Glenton, head of Roads Policing for Surrey and Sussex, said: “This year we have stopped more vehicles and made more arrests than ever before. That is a testament to the professionalism of our officers who work to keep our roads safe.

“We carried out more drug tests to raise awareness of how illegal substances can stay in people’s bodies for far longer and impair their ability to drive safely.

“Our patrols on the roads continue 24/7, all year round, to catch offenders and prevent them causing serious harm to themselves and other road users.”

PCC Lisa Townsend

Surrey’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Lisa Townsend, said: “Surrey’s fantastic roads policing teams are dedicated to targeting the arrogant and selfish drink and drug drivers who pay so little regard to the safety of others.

“The results from this year’s Operation Limit campaign speak for themselves. Across both Surrey and Sussex, thousands of people were stopped, and hundreds were arrested after failing drug wipes and breath tests.

“I’m very proud of the tireless efforts of our officers to prevent tragedies on the roads.

“No one has the right to endanger the lives of innocent people through this entitled, idiotic behaviour.”

Apart from killing of seriously injuring someone, the consequences of drink or drug-driving can include:

A minimum 12-month ban;
An unlimited fine;
A possible prison sentence;
A criminal record, which could affect your current and future employment;
An increase in your car insurance;
Trouble travelling to countries such as the USA;

A breakdown of statistics for December show:

There were 474 drug wipe tests carried out, with 140 returning a positive result.
There were 2,310 breath tests carried out, with 84 that were positive, refused, or failed to provide.