Back to Motoring news

Motoring news

Motoring news search

Search our archive of Motoring news.

		GO

Motoring news archive

Search our archive of Motoring
news by date.

2012

January
February

2011

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2010

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2009

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December

2008

September
October
November
December

RSS feed

You can subscribe to receive the latest motoring news from Admiral with RSS.

	Motoring news RSS feed

'Encouraging' figures for festive drink-drive campaign

22/01/2010

The proportion of drivers who failed a breath test in the month-long Christmas crackdown fell by 16.5% compared to the previous year, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) has announced.

However, despite the improvement, 7,638 drivers were arrested during the crackdown - a figure police stressed was "totally unacceptable".

The number of breath tests administered by the country's 43 police forces was markedly up on the previous year's campaign, rising by 21.8% to reach 223,423. The figure is the highest ever recorded in the annual blitz, which runs from 1 December to 1 January.

ACPO lead for roads policing, Chief Constable Mick Giannasi, said that police were encouraged by the statistics in most areas. But he added: "Despite all the messages that drinking and driving is dangerous and illegal, some people still do not get the point."

"The end of the campaign definitely does not mean the end of police vigilance to catch those who continue to flout the law, however, and drink and drive," he warned.

Commenting on the figures, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said that they underlined the need for the independent review announced at the beginning of December 2009.

The charity is in favour of reducing the blood alcohol limit from 80 milligrams in 100 millilitres of blood to 50mg - a move that would bring the UK into line with much of Europe, and which is understood to be a possible outcome of Sir Peter North's review.

RoSPA said that drivers between the two blood concentrations - and thus within the current legal limit - were six times more likely to be in a fatal accident than those who were totally sober. It also highlighted that, according to provisional figures, 430 people died in 2008 in drink-drive accidents on Britain's roads.

"Given the percentage of drivers arrested after a crash, these figures provide yet more evidence, if any was needed, that alcohol and driving do not mix," said head of road safety Kevin Clinton.

Tweet