Praise for police efforts in tackling drink and drug driving

The charity Brake has welcomed police efforts to catch drunk and drug drivers over the Christmas period, but warns that more must be done by government to stamp out this deadly menace.

Around 7,100 people were arrested in England and Wales in the month-long police Christmas and New Year campaign targeting drink and drug drivers, up 16% from the same period last year, according to Association of Chief Police Officer figures.

Police used intelligence to focus on known routes favoured by drink and drug drivers and act on information from the public, enabling an increase in arrests despite breath tests being down by 8% compared to 2010. The number of Field Impairment Tests for drug driving increased by a third (36%), with 17% of these resulting in arrest.

Brake praises police for their work to tackle drink and drug driving in the face of severe budget cuts. However, Brake is urging the government to make it easier to catch drink and drug drivers, and enable a greater deterrent against this deadly behaviour, by:

• introducing roadside drug testing devices and creating a new offence making it illegal to drive with illegal drugs in your body, removing the need to prove impairment,
• giving police powers for random breath-testing, to enable far more tests to be carried out through targeted, high profile campaigns, and
• making roads policing a national policing priority, to send a clear directive that this vital frontline policing should be given great investment and priority.