Drink Drivers In Denial As Arrests Increase

Hundreds of people are continuing to drink and drive in the belief they will not be caught, police said yesterday as they revealed a sharp increase in offenders in the latest Scotland-wide crackdown.

A total of 178 motorists were arrested for drink-driving or being unfit through drink last week in the second week of the two-week summer campaign, compared with 140 in the first week. A further six drivers were found to be unfit through drugs, compared with eight in the previous week.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS) said the number of drink-drivers was nearly 3 per cent higher overall than in last year’s campaign. But the figure may have increased because all motorists committing driving offences were breath-tested for the first time in a national campaign.

Those caught last week included a man who was teaching his son to drive in Arbroath. Both were arrested.

A 29-year-old motorcyclist who had been banned from driving three times was caught in Stirling. He also had no insurance, tax disc or MOT certificate.

A 49-year-old woman who allegedly swerved into the path of another vehicle in Dunoon was found to be four times over the limit.

Another woman, who was stopped in South Lanarkshire, provided a breath sample of around five times the limit.

In Ayrshire, a 40-year-old man was found to be three times over the limit after being stopped at 10am on Saturday, who police described as a “classic morning-after drink-driver”.

The largest increase in the second week of the campaign was among male drivers under 25 – from 36 to 49.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Learmonth, ACPOS’s road policing secretary, said: “It is frustrating that so many drivers think that they can get away with drink-driving. We have warned drivers we would be expanding our roadside testing during the two-week-long summer drink/drugs driving campaign, but there seems to be a hard core who think that they won’t be caught.

“The law is quite clear. Our message is strong: do not think that you can get away with it. We will catch you. Don’t risk it.”

Superintendent Pat Docherty, head of road policing at Strathclyde, Scotland’s largest force, said: “Unfortunately, every year we see an increase in the number of people who drive whilst under the influence of drink and/or drugs.

“Many motorists seem to be unaware of the penalties for drink- or drug-driving. They are severe, and anyone convicted, no matter how little over the limit, will be banned from driving for a minimum of a year, even for a first offence.”

Michael McDonnell, the director of Road Safety Scotland, said: “People must realise this is something they should not be doing. Many people’s livelihoods depend on their driving licences, and to destroy it for the sake of a half pint is ludicrous.”