Festive breath-testing results

16 January 2012

Derbyshire police have released the results of their Christmas breath-testing campaign.
The campaign ran between December 1 and 31, during which time officers conducted breath tests on drivers across the county to reduce the number of people driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Officers administered 895 breath tests and of those, 104 people (11 per cent) gave a positive test, the driver refused to take the test or the driver failed to provide a sample.
During the 2010 campaign, officers conducted 656 tests and of those 105 people (16 per cent) gave a positive test, the driver refused to take the test or the driver failed to provide a sample.
Once again, Crimestoppers offered a reward of up to £1,000 to anyone who provided them with information that led to someone being arrested and charged with drink driving. In December, 28 people called Crimestoppers to report drink driving but they all declined the offer of a reward. Ten people called the charity during the 2010 campaign.
Chief Inspector Steve Wilson, Derbyshire’s head of roads policing, said: “The campaign this year was around raising awareness of the issue of drink-driving, especially around our involvement with Crimestoppers. It was about trying to dissuade people from drink-driving by letting them know that anyone could report them, even if they just wanted to do it anonymously.
“It’s pleasing to see that even in these difficult times, the people who rang Crimestoppers were not interested in a reward. They felt they had a moral obligation to make the call