Gwent Police has breath tested a record 20,772 motorists in a month and warned the public they are ‘relentlessly’ targeting drink drivers.
The force has adopted ‘mass screening’ testing to find those under the influence of drink and drugs and says this has led to 54% fewer collisions on the roads.
Gwent Police’s total was part of a record month of testing by all four Welsh police forces. Of the 35,347 drivers tested by South Wales, Gwent, North Wales and Dyfed-Powys forces, 651 tested either positive, refused or failed to provide a sample.
A spokeswoman said: "We’re doing tests as routine, morning, noon and night. It’s very high profile and it seems to be working. In June we stopped more people than we ever have before.
"I think the fact people are seeing others being stopped at the roadside also helps."
Most of the 20,722 people who took the breath test in the force area did so on a voluntary basis and agreed to pass on the message to friends and work colleagues that they had been stopped and asked to take the test.
Chief Constable Mick Giannasi said he believed the results of the campaign were already being seen. "The reduction by over half in the number collisions is particularly pleasing," he said.
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