Out of their faces.. and out on the roads
Huge increase in serious drink-driving offences
Police have warned of a major rise in the most serious drink- driving offences over the festive season.
Senior officers said there was evidence of an upsurge in drivers being caught several times the legal alcohol limit.
They made the warning ahead of the official figures being released later this week on positive tests during the five-week festive purge.
Police Scotland say they are very concerned by the “exceptional ” number of drivers with high alcohol readings.
It follows new figures which revealed that more than 10,000 drink-drivers have been banned since 2015.
In Scotland, the drink- drive limit is 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – the lowest in Britain.
Superintendent Louise Blakelock, deputy head of road policing in Scotland, said: “Too many drivers have been getting behind the wheel during the festive period while significantly over the limit. We have had high readings in the past but the numbers this year are exceptional.
“We have a number of motorists whose readings are over 100 micrograms, where the legal limit for a breath test is 22. That is significantly over. We are also finding people five and six times over – and that is really concerning for us.
“Some of the high readings are for repeat offenders, others are first-time. But if they are first-time, that does not mean it is the first time they have been drink-driving. It’s the first time they’ve been caught.”
In one case, a 58-year-old man was caught by police in Aberdeenshire on Christmas Eve with a reading of 144.
A 51-year-old woman was breathtested going to work in Edinburgh on December 10 and had a reading of 137.
On December 19, a 36-year- old woman was also caught in Edinburgh with a reading of 136. All three drivers were more than six times the legal limit.
A 31-year-old man was caught in Aberdeenshire on Christmas Day with a reading of 103 – more than four times the limit.
Police also stopped a taxi driver, 67, in Falkirk on December 16 with a reading of 71.
Supt Blakelock said several drivers had been caught thanks to information provided by their own families.
She added: “I would like to thank the public who phoned in with good information about people who are regular drink-drivers.”
At the drink- driving campaign launch in Edinburgh on December 1, pol ice warned drink- drivers were more likely to be caught now than ever.
Scotland’s top law officer, Lord Advocate James Wolffe QC, stressed the serious consequences of breaking the law, including receiving a criminal record, unlimited fines, an automatic driving ban and having your car seized.
For the first time, police have been using digital breathalysers, which also record the age, gender and location of those stopped. This information will give officers an idea of which groups offend most often – allowing them to be targeted in future.
We are finding drivers who are five and six times the limit. It’s a real concern