Shock Rise In Drink-driving

Drink-driving is still on the up. That's the disturbing news following the release of official figures for Christmas and the New Year. The stats show more people were caught over the limit during the two-week crackdown than at any time since 1997.

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19th January 2004

And while the number of injury accidents had fallen, Association of Chief Police Officers' (ACPO) figures reveal nearly one in 10 breath tests following a crash resulted in a positive sample over the festive period.

The news comes after we highlighted the rising drink-driving trend with our Target 365 campaign, which started in issue 784, and reinforces our belief the Government needs to act. Richard Brunstrom, ACPO's controversial head of road policing, was pleased about the fall in injuries, but said: "The sad fact is that the same percentage of drivers in collisions police dealt with over Christmas had been drinking to excess as in 1997." Brunstrom demanded a lower blood alcohol limit, and called for random breath tests to be introduced - one of the main aims of our campaign.