Hundreds held for drink and drug driving during Merseyside lockdown as 250 drivers have been arrested for drink and drug driving since March 23.
Hundreds of drivers have been arrested on Merseyside after failing drink and drug tests during the lockdown period. Police have arrested 250 motorists on suspicion of drink and drug driving on Merseyside since the lockdown was introduced by the government to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
Police have said that 90 drivers have been arrested for drink driving and a further 160 for drug driving since March 23 this year . People should be using their cars for essential journeys only during the lockdown.
The figure was 350 for the same period last year.
Paul Mountford, Casualty Reduction Officer for Merseyside Road Safety Partnership, said: "The whole idea of the restrictions on vehicle journeys is to reduce the risk of an incident on the roads that would lead to people having to attend hospital and add to the workload of the NHS.
"So it’s particularly alarming that these individuals, have chosen to drive after consuming alcohol or drugs, placing themselves and others at great risk.
“We know that sales of alcohol have risen during the lockdown period and that many people may be spending longer periods at home. Combined with the spell of fine weather, it’s all too easy to drink more heavily than normal.
"However, people need to remember the rules about drinking and driving. Even small amounts of alcohol may affect a person’s ability to drive and measures are usually larger at home than they would be if bought in a pub. Alcohol may remain in the body for several hours and may still be present the following day.
“Last year, over 2,000 drivers were arrested for drug driving. Merseyside Police is one of the top performing police forces in the country at detecting those drivers who drive after taking drugs and we will continue to be pro-active during lockdown in order to keep people safe on our roads and protect the NHS.
"There are strict limits placed on commonly used drugs such as cannabis and cocaine and police can test at the roadside. We know that a tiny minority of people do take drugs illegally – and we want to send a clear message to those individuals: do not take drugs and drive.”
If you want to report an incident of drink or drug driving, you can do so online to the Merseyside Police Contact Centre on Twitter @MerPolCC or via Facebook. You can also report it anonymously to Crimestoppers (0800 555 111) . If you need to report an incident of dangerous driving and have dashcam footage or images, you can submit it via the reporting tool on www.merseyside.police.uk
Original article By Tom Duffy 11:21, 6 May 2020.
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