Police crackdown: Over 450 arrests made in West Yorkshire as part of festive campaign on drink and drug driving

In support of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s drink and drug drive operation, West Yorkshire Police carried out increased enforcement activity on drink and drug drivers on the region’s roads from November 20, 2022, to January 1, 2023.

During this period, 459 arrests were made for drink or drug driving offences. This included 271 arrests for drink driving, 168 arrests for drug driving and 20 arrests for failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis.

This compares to 221 arrests for drink driving, 95 arrests for drug driving and 19 arrests for failing to provide a sample during last year’s campaign, which ran from December 1, 2021, to January 1, 2022.

Inspector Chris Robinson, of the Roads Policing Support Unit, said: “I’d like to say thank you to everyone who behaved responsibly over the Christmas and New Year period and made sure they had a designated driver or used public transport or taxi services.

“Unfortunately, our breathalysers and drug wipe kits have been in high demand over the festive period with hundreds of motorists now facing 2023 without a driving licence.”

The force also ran its own awareness campaign - The Cost - which aimed to highlight the consequences of being convicted of a drink or drug driving offence.

Inspector Robinson added: “The videos that we released during this year’s campaign really highlight the impact that driving under the influence of drink or drugs has on victims and offenders.

“I hope they made people think and ultimately changed the mindset of some members of the public considering drink or drug driving.

“While we put a particular focus over the festive period on drink and drug driving, please rest assured that our officers work all year round to ensure that reckless and dangerous drivers are taken off our roads.”