Summer Breath Test Campaign Reveals Drink Driving on Increase.

Following the summer drink driving campaign, statistics released by the Chief Police Officers Association have revealed that the percentage of drivers over the legal limit has increased in comparison to the same period last year. 

Some 88,629 drivers were breath tested in June and 6.1% of those either failed, or refused to take a breath test and that compares to 5.6% in the same period last year.  Worryingly, offences by young drivers under 25 years of age were up by 15% over last year. 

The number of tests carried out was 12% less than last year however the number of drug tests increased by 30%. 

This is a Europe wide problem and The European Traffic Police Network (TIPSOL) saw police test almost a million motorists across Europe over a 7 day period in June 2011.  In total, 986,954 drivers were tested and there were 17,705 alcohol offences and 1,636 drug offences detected. 

There are countrywide statistics available, but it’s probably just best to tell you how the United Kingdom did in relation to everyone else and to be honest “it’s not good reading”. 

We looked at the number of tests undertaken and from the figures, worked out a percentage of those that were positive.  Out of 29 countries, Southern Ireland was the worst with 13.3% positive tests, whilst Switzerland picked up second worst, with 5.67% positive tests.  The UK was 3rd with 5.5% of idiots driving after having had a drink.   Compare that to say Sweden, who conducted almost 5 times as many tests as we did in the UK, and realized just 0.4% positive (that 92% less than the UK).  Even Spain only recorded only 2.06% and France 2.3%.    

Lets take another slant on this, percentage wise, in the UK, there were more people testing positive than there were in  Denmark, Finland, Holland, Norway, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Sweden and Italy, all added together, so test for test, driver for driver we have more drunken drivers than the combined total of 8 European countries 

It gets no better when you look at positive drug tests and whilst only 19 countries carried these out, guess who’s in pole position? Well it’s the UK with 1.45% positive and we are way higher than any of the other 19 countries. 

So there we have it.  We all know it’s stupid and crass to get behind the wheel after you’ve had a drink yet these figures show that many of us frankly, don’t care. 

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