More than 30,000 given breath tests

The festive campaign by South Yorkshire Police ended on January 1 and put the force into first or second place nationally, even though some other forces cover larger populations with more vehicles on the road.

The results show a massive increase on last year, when fewer than 5,000 motorists were tested across the county.

The policy of widespread testing has been introduced this year in an attempt to bring together the benefits of enforcement work and driver education.

Some of the tests have been conducted on a voluntary basis because legislation does not allow police to demand a test without a reason. Many have been carried out at highly-visible locations on main roads, in an attempt to make other passing motorists aware of the work.

By Christmas Eve, 26,000 drivers had provided tests, with the failure rate at 0.71 per cent.

South Yorkshire Police’s head of roads policing, Chief Insp Andy Male, said: “That is still concerning in what is basically a mass breath-testing campaign. Normally, we do targeted ones.

“This is a reduction strategy rather than a conviction strategy.”

Chief Insp Male added that the strategy had a high level of public support, with the reaction of motorists pulled over surprising some of the officers involved.

Some car passengers had asked to provide a sample after the driver was stopped, out of curiosity, something police were happy to co-operate with.

In North Yorkshire, officers conducted around 4,000 breath tests and arrested 108 people during December. Special fast-track courts were put in place in partnership with the Crown Prosecution Service – one driver lost his licence within 38 hours of his arrest for drink-driving.

Of the 108 arrests, 86 were for providing a positive breath test at the roadside.

Even with the high level of police activity, there have been several collisions over Christmas where alcohol has been a factor, say police.