“I WANT to be really clear – there is no excuse for drug driving.”

That’s from our Head of Roads Policing as drug driving arrests in December hit 225 and nearly 1,800 for the year.

As part of our Christmas anti-drink and drug driving work a total 357 people have now been arrested.

225 of those arrests being for drug driving which equates to more than 10 a day.

Last week our Chief Constable described the situation as “a drug driving epidemic”, highlighting the dangers of people driving with drugs in their system.

Across the country one in three fatal collisions involve someone with cocaine or cannabis in their system.

Adam Pipe, Head of Roads Policing, said: “We tackle drug driving all year round, not just at Christmas, but we have stepped up our focus over the festive period as we know people often take greater risks at this time of year.

“We’ve arrested more people on suspicion of drug driving so far this month than any other month for five years.

“We tend to hear people say ‘the tests are faulty’ or ‘I smoked days ago, I feel fine now’, ‘why don’t you target the dealers’.

“I want to be really clear – there is no excuse for drug driving.

“The tests are accurate and are backed up by blood samples. Like with drink, if you’re over the drug driving limit you’re breaking the law. And Op Raptor teams have secured decades of years in prison sentences for drug dealers

“Where you may be prescribed legal cannabis products for medicinal use, you could still be impaired and we test for that.

“We’re on course to make around 1,800 drug driving arrests this year – that’s double the number in 2024, it’s double the number in 2023.

“We’re facing a drug driving epidemic in Essex and it can have fatal consequences.

“My officers will continue to be out across the county targeting those who pose a danger to you.

“If you know someone who is drink or drug driving, please contact us. If you’re with someone who’s about to get behind the wheel, tell them to put the car keys down”.