Police hail drop in number of people caught drink-driving
fall in Festive campaign figures
Published:
POLICE chiefs yesterday welcomed a fall in the number of motorists caught drink-driving in Scotland over the festive period.
Senior officers said they were encouraged that nearly 200 fewer motorists had been arrested for alcohol or drug-related offences than during the 2007/08 road safety campaign.
But they expressed concern over the hundreds of drivers still prepared to put themselves and others at risk by ignoring their warnings.
The four-week road safety Festive Drink-Drugs Driving Campaign was co-ordinated by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (Acpos).
A total of 654 people across the country’s eight police force areas were caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In 2007/08 the figure was 839.
The 2008/09 campaign focused on “morning-after” drink-drivers.
Chief Constable Kevin Smith of Acpos said: “While we are pleased to see more people obeying the law there were 654 motorists who chose to ignore it. That is still far too many who are prepared to take the risks to themselves and other road users.
“To all motorists, regardless of age, if you are going to drink, don’t drive.”
Eleven drivers were caught drink-driving during the last week of the festive crackdown by Tayside Police.
A 16-year-old youth from Brechin was among the motorists arrested during the final days of the national campaign.
The teenager was seen riding a motorbike by an off-duty police officer in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
He was found to be more than twice the legal alcohol limit for driving.
Head of road policing Chief Inspector Sandy Bowman said: “The risks to young drivers and young men in particular have been highly publicised.
“They are at greater risk than any other group of being involved in serious or fatal collisions. There are far too many young drivers drinking and driving and almost all of them are men.
“To those drivers who believe they won’t get caught, I want to remind you that we will continue to target drink-drivers for the rest of the year and you will be put before the court as soon as possible.
“It is not acceptable to drink-drive or drug-drive under any circumstances and if you don’t value your life or other people’s lives that highly, then we will gladly help you lose your licence.”
Tayside Police said 10 men and one woman were arrested last week, with a 27-year-old man also found to be unfit to drive through drugs.
During the four-week initiative 43 drivers were reported to the fiscal for drink-driving and two were reported for driving under the influence of drugs.
The figure compares with 64 drivers arrested for drink-driving last year and a further four for drug-driving.
This year 207 drivers were reported for speeding, 114 people for not wearing a seatbelt and 59 drivers for using a mobile phone while driving.
