Shocking 15% increase in festive drink-driving

THE number of people caught drink-driving during the PSNI’s winter campaign increased by more than 15%.

Leading up to and over the Christmas period, a total of 357 drink drivers were arrested between December 1 and January 1 — 48 more than during the same period in 2016/17.

One person was caught at nearly four times the legal limit.

PSNI Inspector Rosie Leech said: “When we launched this operation at the start of December, we warned drivers not to take the risk, because just one drink can impair your decision-making.

“Just one drink can cause a collision. Just one drink could kill.

“We tested over 13,000 people during the operation — an increase of over 16% in the number of preliminary roadside breath tests compared with the previous operation.

“We arrested 357 people who failed those tests. Each of those people are now facing the stark reality of a court appearance where they will most likely lose their driving license for one or more years, be fined, and will have great difficulty in obtaining car insurance in the future.”

She said one person had a reading of 133 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millimetres of breath — the legal limit is 35mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

Inspector Leech added: “We shouldn’t be detecting people driving with any alcohol in their system.

“It’s disappointing that despite our continued warnings, the publicity and media coverage generated by this policing operation, that a minority of people completely disregarded the safety of themselves and others by continuing this shameful and incredibly dangerous practice.

“Police will continue to use all the powers and legislation at our disposal, including the authorised checkpoints, to detect people who insist on driving after having taken drugs or alcohol.

“All motorists need to consider the consequences of their actions. Never take the risk of having even one drink if you are driving. The consequences can be catastrophic.

“As we move into a new year and with the continuing hours of darkness, I want to renew our appeal to all road users and pedestrians to exercise caution and put road safety first.”

PSNI figures show that 63 people died in road tragedies during 2017 — five fewer people than 2016.

Police say over 95% of deaths and serious injuries on our roads are due to human error caused by poor road user behaviour and are preventable.