NEARLY one in five deaths on the north's roads over the past decade have been caused by drugs or alcohol.
More than 160 people died between 2006 and 2015 in road crashes linked to drugs and alcohol, statistics compiled by the PSNI show.
The figure represents more than 19 per cent of the 833 road deaths in Northern Ireland over the 10-year period.
Around 5,200 people were also injured in road crashes caused by the substances – more than five per cent or all those injured.
PSNI statistics published online do not provide separate figures for drugs and alcohol-linked road crashes.
Drugs have also been a factor in many road fatalities in the south.
In November a report emerged showing that 30 per cent of people who died in road crashes in 2013 had taken prescription medicine.
The internal report by the Republic's Road Safety Authority examined 109 coroners' reports in that year.
It found that while 31 per cent of those killed in road crashes had taken alcohol, 30 per cent had taken prescription medication, and 20 per cent illegal drugs.
In Britain, drivers having drugs in their bodies was recorded as a factor in 16 per cent of fatal road crashes during 2015 that were caused by impairment or distraction.
Of the 374 crashes caused by impairment or distraction, in 62 cases motorists were impaired by illicit or medicinal drugs.
