Wiltshire Police made 84 arrests over suspected drink/drug driving offences between 1 December 2016 and 1 January 2017.
Sergeant Gavin Brewster, of the Wiltshire Road Safety Unit, said: “84 positive results are higher on last year which saw a total of 68 positives or fail to provide a sample. However we stopped significantly more drivers – 303 more – and the percentage risking drinking and driving has actually fallen from 9.34% to 8.15% of those tested.”
“Although this is an improvement it shows that not everybody is listening to the drink/drug driving message and acting on it. It is quite simple; if you have been drinking you should not be driving. We would like to thank members of the public for calling in and working with Wiltshire Police to help get these drink and drug drivers off of the road.”
• 1031 people were stopped and had breath tests administered
• 84 people were arrested for providing a positive breath test/failing to provide a sample
• 27 were found to have a positive breath test/failed to provide a sample following a road traffic collision
• 21 who failed the breath test were aged under 25 years
• 20 people were screened at the roadside for suspected drug use of which 12 were positive or failed to provide a sample and were arrested.
Angus Macpherson, Police and Crime Commissioner for Wiltshire and Swindon, said: “I’m glad to see the increase in the number of people stopped and tested, and that the percentage of those who were driving irresponsibly has fallen. I would like to commend Wiltshire Police officers for their vigilance during the festive period.
“It is very concerning that so many young people were found to have been drinking and driving when so much excellent work is done by police and partners in schools with projects such as Safe Drive Stay Alive. It shows that this work needs to continue.”
Assistant Chief Constable, Kier Pritchard, said: “We know that the vast majority of people in Swindon and Wiltshire obey the law, but drinking to excess or taking drugs when driving is simply unacceptable at any time of the year and our efforts to catch offenders will not cease. The best advice we can give drivers is not to drink or take illegal drugs at all. The penalties are significant and if the worst happened and someone died as a result of drink/drug driving, the driver would be facing a prison sentence. It is just not worth the risk.”
Anyone wishing to report an incident of drink/drug driving at any time of the year should call Wiltshire Police on 101 and select option 4 for the Drink Drive Hotline.
In an emergency, dial 999.
Or to report a crime completely anonymously contact Crimestoppers 0800 555111
