56 people arrested for drink-driving in the Thames Valley

Posted on December 11, 2014

Thames Valley Police have arrested 56 people on suspicion of drink-driving after seven (1-7 Dec) days of the Christmas anti-drink drug drive campaign.

The 'Is it worth the risk?' campaign was launched on Monday 1 December and is aimed at targeting drink and drug drivers over the festive period. A total of 2,779 people have so far been breath tested.

Of those arrested, 46 were men (a 16 per cent decrease) and 10 were female (33 per cent decrease). The oldest was a 63-year-old man arrested in Slough on 6 December and the youngest were two 19-year-old men arrested in Slough on 3 December and Aylesbury on 6 December for drug-driving. The average age of those arrested was 35.

The highest reading so far was taken from a driver in Berkshire on 2 December, who was five times over the legal limit according to a breath test at the scene.

In total, 31 of the 56 arrested have been charged, 17 have been released on bail pending further enquiries and eight people have been released with no further action.

This year's arrests show a 20 per cent decrease on the 70 arrests made during the same period in 2013.

The campaign, which runs until 1 January, will see police targeting individuals they suspect of driving under the influence of drink or drugs, both on the way home from nights out and the morning after a heavy night.

Of the arrests, 22 have been made in Berkshire, 20 in Buckinghamshire and 14 in Oxfordshire.

Chief Inspector for Hampshire Constabulary and Thames Valley Roads Policing Unit, Henry Parsons said: "People often ask us what's the safe limit to drink and drive. The answer is that there isn't one, please don't mix the two, the consequences simply aren't worth the risk, real people die and get injured."