Less people caught drink driving

Police have praised Gloucestershire drivers after fewer people were arrested for drink driving over Christmas and New year.

52 people were arrested during the crackdown, which ran from December 1st 2010 to January 1st 2011, that compares to 70 in 2009 and 93 arrests in 2008.

During this campaign police carried out 1367 breath tests, compared to 2,447 tests the year before, this was due to the heavy snowfall in December, with officers making attending incidents their priority. That was also the case nationally.

Inspector Keith Fagan, of Gloucestershire Police’s Road Safety and Traffic Management team, said drink driving arrests in the county were down even before the bad weather hit the roads.

Insp Fagan said: “I’m very pleased that fewer and fewer drivers are prepared to take the risk of drinking and driving in Gloucestershire.

“The severe weather at the end of December of course played a part in keeping people off the roads. The snow and ice also meant that responding to incidents was our priority.

“But it's important that the weather doesn’t mask what is a clear trend away from drink-driving in Gloucestershire. Even before the appalling conditions set in, arrests were down.

“We were also actively looking for anyone who had taken drugs before driving, and I’m really encouraged that we found no one who had.”