Drink driving arrests drop in area

THE number of people in North East Lincolnshire arrested for drink-driving this summer has dropped.

Official figures showed there were only three people arrested for drink-driving following collisions during June and July.

That was out of a total of nearly 340 people breath tested in the two-month period.

The results were released on the same day new penalties came into force for driving offences, including using a mobile phone while driving and driving too slowly in the middle lane of a motorway.

Road safety chiefs have welcomed the new fines and praised motorists for the latest cut in drink-driving offences.

There were 60 collisions attended by police in the two-month period.

The previous summer, the percentage of drink drivers involved in crashes was 10 per cent.

This year, there were 24 positive breath tests – including the three that followed a collision – out of a total of nearly 340, which is equal to about 7 per cent.

Humberside Police casualty reduction officer Barry Gardner said: "That is 24 people who will be losing their licence, which could mean they lose their job and their livelihood and, more importantly, 24 people who could have been involved in a serious road traffic collision. You are massively more likely to have a crash if you've been drinking."

He added: "The number of arrests following crashes has dropped considerably, which is to be applauded."

He said: "Every crash we go to is investigated. That can take between two to three hours as you do all the paperwork and maybe visit hospitals, through to several days of investigation."

The officer said the new penalties for driving offences, which came into force yesterday, were welcomed, but would not make much difference to the procedures when drivers are stopped on suspicion of an offence.

Pc Gardner said: "We issue Traffic Offence Reports, which are then decided by a central decision-maker based on whether the driver has already been on a course to improve their driving.

"It is our judgement if someone's standard of driving falls below that of a competent driver if they are in a middle lane. If they are tailgating that is an aggravating feature."