Drivers are being warned they are more than twice as likely to be breathalysed over the Christmas and New Year period than at any other time.
In December last year nearly 50,000 breath tests were carried out across England and Wales, compared with a monthly average of just over 20,000.
Over 5,000 motorists were found to be over the legal limit, or refused to provide a sample – a failure rate of one in ten.
“Christmas and New Year celebrations mean Police always ramp up roadside breath testing,” comments Hunter Abbott of AlcoSense.
“At the current drink-drive limit in England and Wales, you are 13 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than when sober.
“If you drink four pints of medium-strong beer or four large glasses of wine, it can take as long as 14 hours for the alcohol to clear your system.
“If you’ve been drinking at a Christmas event, don’t even think about getting behind the wheel. If you’re driving the next day, test yourself with a personal breathalyser to make sure you’re clear of alcohol from the night before. One in five drink drive convictions are in the morning”.
Analysis of Home Office figures by shows that South Wales was the breath test hotspot last December. Police stopped 6,579 motorists suspected of drink driving – considerably more than anywhere else in the UK. The next highest number of roadside tests was in the Metropolitan Police area of London (2,576), followed by Surrey (2,075).
Across the whole of 2023 there were 276,914 tests in England and Wales – up 3% compared with the previous year – according to the Police Powers and Procedures report published by the Home Office this month.
“Despite greater awareness of the dangers of drink driving, it’s a shocking fact that nearly 45,000 motorists were over the legal limit last year,” adds Hunter Abbott.
Nationally, 300 deaths on Britain’s roads were caused by drunk drivers – an alarming increase of 15% over the previous year and the highest since 2009.
The Department for Transport estimates that the total number of people injured in drink drive accidents was 6,800 – also up slightly.
