Over 1,400 motorists stopped as part of tri-force drink drive crackdown

THROUGHOUT December road policing officers across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire stopped more than 1,400 motorists as part of a crackdown on driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

The National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) annual operation which ran from 1 December 2017 to 1 January 2018 saw operations run by every police force in England and Wales to target drink and drug driving particularly around Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

The Beds, Cambs and Herts Road Policing Unit stopped at total of 1,410 vehicles in December as part of the campaign, administering 605 breath tests and 44 drugs tests. Of these, 45 were positive, refused or failed breath tests and 22 positive drugs tests.

Inspector Chris Huggins, from the BCH Road Policing Unit, said: “Sadly we are still seeing far too many drivers on our roads who make the decision to get behind the wheel after consuming alcohol or drugs. This is not acceptable.

“A lot of campaigning has been done, and continues to be done across the country to change behaviours and educate people on the dangers of drink and drug driving and for the majority of people it is socially unacceptable and something they would never consider doing, however there are still drivers who do think it is acceptable to risk the lives of others.”

Nationally almost 100,000 vehicles were stopped, with more than 91,000 breath tests being administered during December 2017, resulting in 5,922 arrests.

NPCC Lead for Roads Policing, Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, said: “This year's campaign used more intelligence led, targeted stops which resulted in slightly fewer vehicle stops than Christmas 2016 and a nearly four percent increase in arrests. Sadly this shows the high number of people who still get behind the wheel after drinking or taking drugs, which is a real concern.

“Despite forces sharing heart wrenching tales of local families who face Christmas without loved ones because of drink or drug driving, the percentage of breath tests taken following a collision that were positive, refused or failed remained the same as in 2016 (9.2 per cent) – a reminder that it is never worth the risk to get behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.”