The number of drink-drive arrests in Merseyside rose over Christmas compared to the previous year, new figures have revealed.
A total of 176 motorists were arrested for being over the limit, out of 7,882 that were breathalysed – an increase on last year's figures of 119 arrested out of 7,850 breathalysed.
Merseyside Police officers stopped a record number of vehicles and conducted the highest amount of breath and drug impairment tests to date as part of their December drink and drug drive campaign.
Officers made 19 arrests from 69 drug impairment tests carried out over the festive period, compared to the 33 tests performed in 2010, which led to 12 arrests.
Chief Inspector John Hogan, head of Roads Policing in Merseyside, said he was disappointed that people still chose to get behind the wheel when under the influence, but reassured the public that action was being taken to tackle the issue.
He said: “Despite the obvious dangers of combining driving with alcohol or drugs it is disappointing that a number of people chose to ignore the safety messages and get behind the wheel after drinking alcohol or taking drugs.
"While they represent a small minority of drivers, I cannot stress enough the danger that these people present to themselves and other road users.
"Merseyside Police is committed to addressing drink and drug driving and these statistics reflect this commitment. Although the figure represents an increase on last year's arrests officers have carried out more tests than last year.
"We now have more officers than ever trained to spot the signs displayed by drug impaired drivers and we will continue to train more officers. The public can be reassured that we take this issue very seriously, as can be seen by these statistics.”
Out of the 176 motorists over the drink drive limit, just under a fifth were arrested following a road accident, and three of those resulted in injury.
On Christmas Day, ten drivers were also arrested.
Chief Inspector Hogan also highlighted the ignorance of some younger drivers, as twice as many drivers under the age of 25 were arrested following a breath test as those aged over 25.
He said: "We are committed to not just arresting these drivers but to educating them. Our officers visit schools and colleges throughout Merseyside to raise awareness of the issue of drink and drug driving and we will continue to work with our road safety partners to provide information on this issue".
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