Police Scotland reveal results of festive drink and drug driving crackdown

POLICE Scotland say they are disappointed by the results of a festive campaign to clamp down on drink and drug driving, which saw an average of 471 drivers breathalysed every day.

The proportion of drivers caught increased from the same period as last year, with officers saying there is still a ‘hard-core of drivers who risk their lives and the lives of others’.

A total of 567 drivers of the 15,771 stopped (one in 28) were detected for drink / drug driving, compared with one in 30 during the same period in 2016/17.

The number of people detected who tested between the old and new limits dropped from 57 (9%) last year to 18 (3%) this year and of the 567 detected, 39 (7%) were caught the morning after down from 46 (7%) in 2016/17.

The number of requested vehicle forfeitures, at 48, remained the same as last year.

During the campaign, officers in the Highlands and Islands Division stopped a woman driver on three separate occasions over an eight day period, and found her to be over the limit on each occasion. She has been given an interim disqualification pending a court appearance.

Also in the Highlands and Islands, a foreign HGV driver was found to be three times over the limit, while in Paisley a taxi driver, carrying passengers, was found to be two-and-a-half times the limit after officers stopped him when he was seen jumping a red light.

In Falkirk, a man who was suspected to be drunk while in a store, was later found to have driven away and collided with two parked cars. He tried to run off from officers, but when arrested then passed out due to the level of intoxication and had to be taken to hospital, where he refused to provide samples.

Officers in Tayside responded to several calls from the public about a man slumped over the wheel of a car. When traced, he was found to be more than seven times the limit at the roadside, but failed to provide a sample at the police station, and he was also reported to the Procurator Fiscal for having no licence, insurance and taking the car and driving away without the owner’s permission.

Also in Tayside, members of the public came across a crashed car on a rural road in the early hours of Boxing Day, and the woman driver failed a roadside breath test.

Chief Superintendent Stewart Carle, Head of Road Policing, said: “It is disappointing that the proportion of drivers detected has increased. Notably, there were fewer drivers caught driving while still intoxicated ‘the morning after’, but there remains a hard-core of drivers who continue to risk their lives and the lives of others by drink/drug driving.

“Very few of those caught were found to be between the new alcohol limit of 22mg per 100ml of breath and the old limit 35mg per 100 ml of breath. In fact, many of those caught were found to be significantly over the previous drink drive breath limit, some following road traffic collisions in which people were injured.

“We will be carrying out further research into offending patterns to improve our intelligence-led approach to identify and tackle that hard core of offenders in our future campaigns. Our message based on decades of experience and research remains simple: there is no safe limit for alcohol or drugs if you are going to be driving. Don’t risk it.”

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: “It is disappointing that a persistent minority of drivers are continuing to ignore the law and put their lives and those of others at risk, by driving while under the influence of alcohol.

“Those who have failed drink drive tests will face a minimum 12 month driving ban, a criminal record for a lengthy period and a substantial fine.

“The campaign reinforces that drink driving is unacceptable, and although this particular campaign focused on the festive period, it’s an important message to remember all year round.”