101 suspected drink drivers tested positive, failed to provide or refused to take a test during the recent Winter Drink Drive Campaign.
A total of 1,641 drivers across the force area were tested during the campaign which ran from November 1, 2015 to January 1, 2016.
Incidents on our roads, as a result of drink driving, have remained fairly constant over the past six years due to the consistent approach and enforcement of drink drive laws.
As in previous years the campaign targeted specific areas where intelligence was available suggesting drink drivers could be prevented or detected.
Officers acted on information provided by members of the public who informed the force of suspected drink drivers, some of whom were subsequently found to be over the legal drink drive limit and dealt with appropriately.
Roads Policing Inspector Maxine Teasdale said: “Drinking or taking drugs when driving is unacceptable at any time of the year and our efforts to catch offenders will not stop.
“The penalties are significant and if the worst happened and someone died as a result of drink/drug driving, the driver would be facing a prison sentence. It is just not worth the risk.
“The percentage of drink drivers who tested positive, failed or refused to take the test from the campaign in 2014 (7% positive in 2014, 6% positive in 2015) shows the drink/drug driving message continues to be ignored by some. This figure is something we at Humberside Police work towards reducing and I would like to thank members of the public for calling in and working with us to help get these drink and drug drivers off of the road.”
For the first time during the winter drink drive campaign Humberside Police officers were also able to routinely test drivers at the roadside if they suspected them to have taken drugs.
During November and December 2015 28 drivers were tested at the roadside using new mouth swab testing kits. Of these, 17 proved positive for cocaine or cannabis or both and the drivers were arrested for driving while impaired through drink or drugs. A further driver did not fail the drugs test however failed a breathalyser test and was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol.
These 28 drivers had an average age of 28, the youngest being 17, the oldest 43. Of those tested, 25 were men and three were women.
Casualty reduction officer PC Barry Gardner said: “Since the change in the law in March 2015 Humberside Police officers have been trained in the use of roadside drug test kits. It is another weapon in our armoury to bring those drivers who put other road users at risk by being on our roads while under the influence of drink or drugs.
“The message could not be clearer, don’t take drugs or drink and get behind the wheel of a car. We will continue to routinely test any driver at the roadside that we suspect to have been drinking or taking drugs.
“We hope this will remove potentially deadly drivers from our roads and make them safer for those who go about their lives in a normal, law abiding way.”
