MOTORISTS in Warwickshire are being warned of the dangers of drink driving this Christmas, as figures reveal a quarter of motorists stopped by police in the county last December were found to be over the limit.
A total of 175 drivers were breathalysed, of which 42 either failed the test or refused to provide a sample.
Hunter Abbott, MD of AlcoSense Laboratories which commissioned a Freedom of Information request to reveal the figures, said: “Police always step up the number of roadside breath tests in December, because of Christmas parties and other festive celebrations.
“If you drink four pints of medium-strong beer or four large glasses of wine, it can take as long as 14 hours for the alcohol to clear your system.
“Even with just 10mg per 100mL of alcohol in your blood – one eighth of the legal limit in England and Wales – you are 37 per cent more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than when completely sober.
“The rules are simple. If you’ve been drinking in the evening, don’t drive. If you’re driving the next day, test yourself to make sure you’re clear of alcohol from the night before. One in five drink drive convictions are in the morning”.
Throughout 2022, Warwickshire Police carried out 2,355 roadside breath tests, of which 396 were either positive or refused – meaning nearly 17 per cent of motorists failed the test across the year.
Nationally, there were 260 deaths on Britain’s roads where a motorist was over the drink drive limit – an increase of 18 per cent over the previous year and the highest since 2009. Drunk drivers accounted for 17 per cent of all road deaths.
The Department for Transport estimate that the total number of people injured in drink drive accidents was 6,740 – up four per cent.
