Christmas anti-drink drive campaign - Results

A total of 115 drivers were found to be driving over the limit during Essex Police’s 2011 Christmas anti- drink drive campaign - 30 less than last year.

Officers were out in force across the county between December 1, 2011 and January 1, 2012 taking a zero tolerance approach to those who put lives at risk by choosing to drink and drive.

Of the 3893 drivers stopped and breathalysed during that period, a total of 115 (2.95%) were found to be driving over the legal alcohol limit or refused or failed to provide a sample.

	Male	Female
Under 25	26	4
Over 25	71	14
Total	97	18

Above: Totaliser showing the number of people breathalysed and the number found to be over the limit. Table showing the age and gender of those found to be over the limit.

Of those found to be over the limit, 97 (84%) were men and 18 (16%) were women. A total of 30 (26%) were aged under 25 and 85 (74%) were aged 25 and over.

During the 2010 campaign, of the 4995 drivers tested, 145 (2.9%) tested positive, refused or failed to provide a sample.  Of those 145, 104 were aged 25 and over and 41 were under 25, 27 were female, 117 were male and 1 was unknown.

During the 2009 campaign, of the 4881 drivers tested 198 (4%) tested positive, refused or failed to provide a sample.  Of those 198, 166 were male and 32 were female, 59 were under 25 and 139 were over 25.

Essex Police deals with drink driving robustly 365 days a year but stepped up road checks in towns with bustling night time economies and rural areas during the campaign.

Residents were also encouraged to tell Crimestoppers anonymously about people they know who regularly chose to drink and drive.

On Boxing Day, a 29-year-old man from Colchester was disqualified from driving for 42 months and given a 200-hour community order after being stopped by police twice within 24 hours on suspicion of drink driving.

He appeared at Chelmsford Magstrates’ Court on December 26, 2011 after being stopped on Christmas Eve and charged and bailed to court with failing to provide a specimen when in charge of a vehicle. He was then arrested on Christmas Day for the same offence.

A 27-year-old man from Crewe was also disqualified from driving for two years and sentenced to 12 weeks imprisonment after being charged with drink driving following a road crash in Eastern Avenue in Southend on December 22, 2011. 

Adam Pipe, Casualty Reduction Manager for Essex Police, said: “During the campaign we received lots of information from members of the public about motorists who put the lives of innocent people at risk by choosing to drink and drive.

“Although our Christmas anti-drink drive campaign has now come to an end, this does not signify an end to our efforts to bring irresponsible drivers to justice. We will not tolerate drink or drug driving and deal with it robustly every day of the year.

“Drink driving is not just about Christmas. It ruins lives all year round. Perpetual drink drivers will choose to drink and drive any day of the year so we need support from the public 365 days a year to help us take these people off the roads of Essex.

“It is always disappointing to see that some drivers still consider themselves to be above the law by getting behind the wheel having knowingly consumed too much alcohol.

“Please don’t drink and drive. Think about the consequences. You could face lose your licence and your job, face imprisonment and, much worse, have to live with the guilt of taking a live for the rest of yours. Don’t take the risk.” 

You can report drink drivers by:

- Dialling 999 if you know someone is drunk and you see them getting behind the wheel of a car
- Calling Essex Police on 101 to give police information about someone who regularly chooses to drink and drive
- Telling Crimestoppers anonymously about people who repeatedly drink and drive by calling 0800 555 111 or visiting www.crimestoppers-uk.org

• There is a practise in custody suites around the county where people are breathalysed before leaving custody to ensure they are not over the legal alcohol limit to drive. Some of these tests have mistakenly been included in the figures for the Christmas anti-drink drive campaign. Where these people had already been breathalysed before being taken into custody, this has resulted in duplicates. The final figures given in the release above are correct but these anomalies may have slightly influenced figures released throughout the campaign. This issue has now been resolved and Essex Police apologises for the error.