Summer Anti-Drink Drive Campaign 2012 - results

A total of 110 drivers were found to be over the limit during Essex Police’s 2012 Summer Anti-Drink Drive campaign.

This year’s campaign ran at the same time as the European Football Championships and officers were out in force across the county between June 1, 2012 and June 30, 2012 taking a zero tolerance approach to those who put lives at risk by choosing to drink and drive.

Of the 2250 drivers stopped and breathalysed during that period, a total of 110 (4.8%) were found to be driving over the legal alcohol limit or refused or failed to provide a sample.

Of those found to be over the limit, 83 (75%) were men and 27 (25%) were women. A total of 15 (14%) were aged under 25 and 95 (86%) were aged 25 and over.

During last year’s Summer Anti-Drink Drive Campaign, which ran throughout the month of June, 110 drivers were found to be over the limit. Of those 110, 87 were men and 23 were women. A total of 42 were aged under 25 and 68 were aged over 25.

Essex Police deals with drink driving robustly 365 days a year but stepped up road checks in towns across the county with bustling night time economies and rural areas where some drivers believe they have less chance of getting caught drunk behind the wheel.

In the run up to the campaign Essex Police made a plea to drivers, their families, friends and members of the public to take responsibility by reporting drink drivers to Essex Police or anonymously to Crimestoppers.

During the campaign, residents were kept up to date with how many people had been arrested for drink driving with our online totaliser below:

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

Adam Pipe, Casualty Reduction Manager for Essex Police, said: “Every year I am disappointed to see that some people continue to drink and drive. They believe themselves to be above the law and put innocent lives at risk by getting behind the wheel under the influence.

“This year our campaign was focused on intelligence-driven areas of concern so although we tested slightly fewer drivers there were more positive results.”

“Our Summer Anti-Drink Drive campaign may now have come to an end but our efforts to bring drink drivers to justice will continue. We won’t tolerate those who drink and drive and are asking members of the public to help us rid our roads of such irresponsible drivers. The community that we serve must know who these individuals are and we would strongly urge people to report them to Essex Police or to Crimestoppers anonymously. Picking up the phone could save a life.

“Our message remains unchanged – if you are found to be driving while over the limit you will be arrested and put before the courts.”