Drink Driving Arrests up 21%

The number of people arrested for drink or drug driving in the Thames Valley's gone up by more than 20 percent compared to this time last year.

Since the beginning of December, 117 people have been arrested with 69 charged, 33 bailed and 18 released. Saturday 11th December was the worst day so far according to police, with 23 arrests in one day across the Thames Valley. One woman in Reading was found to be FIVE times over the limit.

Inspector Colin Clark leading Operation Tipple, this year’s month-long police drink and drug driving campaign, said:

“This is expected to be the busiest week for pre-Christmas parties and we are continuing to warn party-goers to think before they drive in the morning after a big night out during the festive season. Two weeks into the drink driving campaign, Thames Valley Police has noticed an alarming increase in arrests for drink driving. We would also like to make it clear that having an extra drink at the pub at lunch can still take, even the most experienced drivers, over the limit and have an effect on their driving ability.

Police carried out an experiment at a driving stimulator in Banbury to test racing driver Darren Turner's abilities as a driver under the influence of alcohol. On the first run with no alcohol consumed, Darren made no mistakes on the racing track. After a couple of beers - but still under the legal limit - Darren began making mistakes. By the time Darren had several beers, he crashed 7 times and his breaking distance increased to 30 metres.

Watch the video of the experiment below: