More UK drivers testing positive for alcohol, but police breathalyse fewer motorists ~ station of gear

Hugo Griffiths 2018-10-04 17:55

Govt figures show number of breath tests issued by police has plummeted in recent years, as proportion of positive breath tests increase

The proportion of drivers failing roadside alcohol breath tests has increased for the last five years, as the number of drivers being breathalysed has plummeted.

Official figures from the Department for Transport (DfT) show 147,550 drivers were tested at the roadside for alcohol in 2017, with 12.4 per cent failing the test. But in 2016, 178,102 drivers were breathalysed, with 11.5 per cent failing the test.

That pattern has been repeated over the last five years. More than three times as many (474,603) drivers were breathalysed in 2013 compared to 2017, while failure rates were just 9.4 per cent.

While the DfT’s figures don’t suggest what could be causing the increase in positive breath tests, reduced police numbers may be forcing officers to target drink drivers more successfully, or the proportion of motorists who get behind the wheel when over the limit could be increasing.

	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
Breath tests issued	147,550	178,102	256,098	310,017	474,603
Passed	129,187	157,682	228,957	279,307	429,760
Failed	18,363	20,420	27,141	30,710	44,843
Percentage failed	12.4	11.5	10.6%	9.9%	9.4%

Whatever the explanation, previous research from the DfT revealed the number of people dying on our roads at the hands of drink drivers increased by 18 per cent in 2016 compared to 2015.

Differentiating between correlation and causality is a notoriously problematic when interpreting statistics, but officials records show the number of police has shown the number of traffic officers plummet by a third over the last decade.

Find out more about the UK drink drive limits here...

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