The percentage of drivers who failed a breath test in the 2013 All Wales Christmas anti drink and drug driving campaign was almost identical to the previous year.
During the month-long 2013 campaign 35,255 drivers throughout Wales were breath tested, 465 (1.3%) of whom were found to be over the drink drive limit.
The comparable figures in 2012 were 35,493 drivers tested, with 502 (1.4%) over the limit.
The 2012 and 2013 figures are an improvement on 2011 when almost 2% of those tested were over the limit.
In the 2013 campaign, North Wales Police carried out 18,159 breath tests with 107 being positive. In Dyfed Powys, 11,281 breath tests were carried out with 161 being positive. In Gwent officers tested 2,470 drivers with 39 being positive; and South Wales Police administered 3,345 tests with 158 positive results.
The campaign was launched with support from the family of Kieran Lea Arnold (see pic) who was tragically killed following a road traffic collision by a drink driver who was twice the legal limit last June.
Speaking on behalf of the Welsh forces, deputy chief constable Gareth Pritchard said: “Although warnings were issued throughout the campaign 465 drivers throughout Wales chose to ignore those warnings by risking their own lives and the lives of others by breaking the law. This is very disappointing.
“It is also astonishing to see that some were almost four times the legal limit. It is clear that these individuals showed a complete disregard for the safety of other road users as well as their own.”
Click here to read the full Road Safety Wales news release.
If comparing different years drink-drive campaign stats for trend purposes, it is a good idea to check whether all the contributing factors are constant. Otherwise a jump in figures (up or down) may be mis-interpreted. Police enforcement in campaigns does vary from year to year and from force to force – and probably more so when accompanied by a change of chief constable.
Pat, Wales
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