Drivers in South Wales are being warned they are five times more likely to be breath tested this December than in other months.
A Freedom of Information request by personal breathalyser firm AlcoSense shows that in December last year, South Wales Police stopped 6,579 motorists suspected of drink driving – considerably more than anywhere else in the UK. The next highest number of roadside tests was in the Metropolitan Police area (2,576).
The Christmas figures compare with 1,302 breath tests in an average month.
The number of South Wales motorists tested last December found to be over the limit was 375, a failure rate of over one in twenty.
“Christmas parties and other festive celebrations mean Police always ramp up roadside breath testing in December,” comments Hunter Abbott, MD of AlcoSense Laboratories.
“At the current drink-drive limit in England and Wales, you are 13 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than when sober.
“If you drink four pints of medium-strong beer or four large glasses of wine, it can take as long as 14 hours for the alcohol to clear your system.
“If you’ve been drinking in the evening, don’t drive. If you’re driving the next day, test yourself with a personal breathalyser to make sure you’re clear of alcohol from the night before. One in five drink drive convictions are in the morning”.
South Wales Police carried out 20,905 roadside breath tests throughout 2023 – again by far the highest number of any police force in the UK. A total of 2,753 motorists failed the test or refused to provide a sample . That means 13% of motorists failed the test overall.
Nationally, there were 300 deaths on Britain’s roads where a motorist was over the drink drive limit – an alarming increase of 15% over the previous year and the highest since 2009. Drunk drivers account for 17% of all road deaths.
The Department for Transport estimate that the total number of people injured in drink drive accidents was 6,800 – also up slightly.
