"It feels like I’ve been given a life sentence, while he only received a 20-month ban.” - The Lasting Impact of Drug Driving

*Content Warning* - This blog includes a first-hand account of a life-changing road traffic collision caused by drug driving. It discusses physical injury, trauma, PTSD, and emotional distress. 

Christmas is a time for celebration, family, and reflection, but sadly it is also a period when the risks associated with drink and drug driving increase significantly. Every year, lives are needlessly lost or changed forever due to impaired driving. Even small amounts of alcohol or drugs can slow reaction time, affect judgement, and reduce concentration.

Remember that alcohol can remain in your system well into the morning after a night out, and drugs - both illegal substances and some prescription medications - can impair your ability to drive safely for much longer.

As your Police and Crime Commissioner, I am committed to supporting Dorset Police in ensuring our roads are safe. This includes funding for roads policing, supporting prevention campaigns, and championing community initiatives that help reduce harm.

This December, Dorset Police is once again participating in Op Limit, a national crackdown on drink and drug driving. The operation brings together enhanced enforcement, increased visibility, and a strong focus on prevention. Officers across Dorset will be carrying out targeted patrols, roadside checks, and intelligence-led stops throughout the month, at all hours of the day and night.

Op Limit is not just about enforcement; it’s also about education and preventing future harm. Dorset Police works closely with partners to raise awareness ensuring that the consequences of drink and drug driving are clearly understood.

When someone decides to get behind the wheel under the influence of drugs, they are not only putting their own life at risk but they are putting the lives of other road users and the wider community at risk. Such actions have a lasting and substantial impact on the innocent people who are caught up in them. I have invited Rebecca Rumen whose life was irrevocably changed when she was involved in a road traffic collision caused by a drug driver to share more about the impact of drug driving.

“My life was changed forever in February 2020, when a drug driver high on cocaine failed to negotiate a bend and caused a serious road traffic collision involving three cars.

It was a Friday evening and I was driving my daughter home from football practice. We set off at around quarter past seven and were chatting about what Saturday would bring. Our dogs were in the car with us. It was like any other Friday evening. I’d already noticed some vehicles speeding out of Bridport and felt I needed to be extra cautious. Just as we were nearing Bridport, it happened. It came out of nowhere.

I didn’t see anything. There were just headlights, a loud noise, and then an indeterminable amount of movement. I couldn’t work out what had happened, where I was, or what I was doing. I knew something terrible had happened. I remember hearing screaming, though I didn’t know if it was me or my daughter, Kitty. The next thing I remember is a woman asking me what emergency services I needed - my car had automatically called 999.

From that point on, nothing made sense. The emergency services arrived quickly; I think the ambulance was first. Everything hurt, every single part of my body. I was very aware that Kitty was beside me and I desperately needed to know she was okay.

I’m a primary school teacher, and I remember panicking, thinking about my students’ parents who are retained firefighters. I didn’t want to make their lives harder. I didn’t want to cause concern or for them to have to tell their children something had happened to me, and they had been there. I had no real understanding of what was happening, only that something awful had occurred.

I couldn’t make sense of where I was, or where Kitty was. As it happened, she had been able to get out of the car and had gone to find the dogs - I had forgotten about the dogs. I just knew she wasn’t there anymore. The police had quite rightly taken her away from the scene, but I didn’t know that. I think that remains one of the hardest parts. I thought she was dead. It took two and a half hours before I could be cut out of the car. I remember asking again and again where Kitty was the whole time. I was told she was fine, but I couldn’t process it. I couldn’t make sense of anything. I thought she was dead, and they just weren’t telling me.

That feeling has stayed with me. Kitty is now 19 and at university, yet the fear that she died that night still lingers. Kitty had the opposite experience - she believed she had been taken away because something was wrong with me. Neither of us knew where the other was or understood the situation we were in.

The collision caused multiple injuries to three innocent women and both my dogs. Medically, my shoulder, knee, and whiplash were the most significant injuries, but the true impact went far beyond the physical. The accident happened just before the pandemic and I went into lockdown unable to walk, unable to drive, and unable to do most things for myself. I went into survival mode; my only focus was making sure Kitty was okay.

Homeschooling probably helped, she felt safe and secure at home, but running in the background was the ongoing legal case. We were kept well informed, and I remember the shock of hearing that the defendant had failed a drugs test. I felt a mixture of anger and disbelief that someone could choose to do that. Could choose to take illegal drugs and then just get in a car and drive and to hell with the consequences.

The drug driver pleaded guilty in the September and received a 20-month ban from driving before carrying on with his life. He refused restorative justice, where victims and perpetrators are able to talk about what happened and victims can ask questions. I had questions. I wanted to know why he did what he did, why he decided to get high and get in his car that night. He has never faced up to what he did.  My question still remains unanswered, and I believe it’s part of why I can’t drive anymore. I need to understand what he was doing so I can stop it happening to me again - but I can’t.

It felt as though the court case happened without us. We completed a victim impact statement but were advised not to attend, maybe because of covid restrictions, but it wasn’t really explained why at the time. There was no media coverage. Because of my professional role, I didn’t feel able to speak out. Bridport is a small town, and I’ve worked at the same school for 23 years. It feels impossible to say this happened to me without feeling unprofessional.

If the case had been visible - if there had been awareness - then in some way, the burden of it wouldn’t have just been mine to carry, other people would have known about it and maybe would have understood why I have changed so very much. Instead, it has stayed with me, because no one publicly pointed the finger and said: he did this, he caused this, and he was high on cocaine.

I live with shame and guilt. When people hear that I don’t drive, they immediately ask when I’ll get my licence back. They assume I was at fault. I can’t explain what happened - it’s too painful to talk about, too emotionally exhausting to keep going over. There was one brief article saying there had been an accident, but no follow-up on the court outcome. It didn’t seem important enough to local media.

“Life-changing” doesn’t come close. I haven’t been able to drive since that night. I’m no longer able to travel by car; on the rare occasions I do, I take prescribed sedation. I live in a disabled body. I’m a shell of my former self.

The PTSD is overwhelming. I’ve tried counselling, EMDR, and multiple therapies, but nothing has worked. Loud noises trigger me. Blue flashing lights terrify me. Everyday life is full of reminders. I can’t stand pineapples because that night I had drunk pineapple tea, and I was being sick in the car and remember swallowing it because I didn’t want to be sick in front of anyone.

I missed five years of watching Kitty play for Exeter City Women’s football team because I couldn’t travel. I can’t attend my grandson’s nativity because of the flashing lights. I live a very small life now, and to be 55 with this legacy is incredibly hard.

It feels like I’ve been given a life sentence - while the drug driver received a 20-month ban.”

I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude to Mrs Rumen for sharing her experience with us, I know this can be a difficult thing to do but if this story can convince just one person to stay off the road whilst under the influence of drink or drugs it could save a life.

This festive season I implore you to plan ahead – take a taxi, get a friend to be a designated driver, or simply use public transport. Look out for friends and family and never let someone drive if you suspect they are unfit. Report dangerous driving - if you see someone getting behind the wheel when you think they shouldn’t, call 999 - trust me, you could potentially save their life or the life of another.

I want everyone in Dorset to enjoy this time of year safely. No celebration is worth risking your life or someone else’s.

David Sidwick

Dorset Police & Crime Commissioner