20 caught in Lisburn drink driving operation

TWENTY people were arrested in the Lisburn area for drink driving during the Christmas period, police have revealed.

Despite the appalling weather, throughout Northern Ireland 364 people were detected during the winter drink drive operation, only slightly down from 414 from last year. The figure includes motorists who were unfit to drive, or who were unable or refused to give a sample.

Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland described the number as 'astounding'.

"Despite some of the worst weather and driving conditions in living memory, 364 people still took the risk of killing or injuring themselves, their family, friends and other innocent road users by deciding to drive after drinking," he said.

"Our aim with this and every road safety initiative is to save lives and reduce injuries, which is why, despite the arctic weather conditions, we ran operations day and night throughout the festive season and not just during the weekends or key dates."

"During this operation, we stopped and performed roadside preliminary breath tests on 4,357 drivers. While that's nearly 25% less than during last year's operation, considering the greatly reduced level of traffic due to the treacherous weather, it is frightening that 364 people failed those tests.

"They begin 2011 with the prospect of going to court where they will almost certainly lose their driving licence. They should count themselves lucky. They could have lost their own life or destroyed the lives of others had police not stopped them."

He said that the number give a serious message to all.

"While we welcome the fact that the vast majority of right thinking people realise that drink driving is shameful and unacceptable, clearly there is still an irresponsible minority who ignore all advice and warnings," he said. "Whilst the current publicity campaign has ended, the detection of drink driving will remain a year-round priority for police."

ACC McCausland added: "If everyone slowed down, did not drive after drinking or taking drugs, wore a seatbelt and drove with greater care and attention then together, it will be possible to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads."