Nationwide effort to catch drink and drug drivers gets underway.

Today (1^st December 2023) sees the launch of Operation Limit – a nationwide crackdown on drink and drug driving which will see all 43 UK police forces step up efforts to catch motorists who disregard the law.

The 4-week long campaign is being coordinated by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and National Roads Policing Operations and Intelligence (NRPOII).

Results from every police force will be analysed and ranked – last year, the same campaign saw an 18% rise in arrests with 6,130 drivers caught compared with 5,186 during the same period in 2021.

The initiatives ‘National Campaign Status’ will help to mobilise national mainstream media and local television and radio to help to create a greater deterrent, to save lives and serious injuries on our roads.

In July this year, drug driving made the headlines when latest government statistics were published showing that drug driving convictions have trebled in five years with a record high of 77 prosecutions a day on average.

Owing to the success of these nationally coordinated efforts, NPCC and NRPOII have indicated their intentions to plan and manage an annual Summer Drink Drug Drive Campaign starting in 2024.

Previously, efforts throughout the year have largely been confined to police forces with a strong focus on roads policing. National coordination will ensure that every force in the UK will be doing more to catch drink and drug drivers going forward.

Ean Lewin, Managing Director of D.tec International, the UK’s sole distributor of DrugWipe, the global leader for police roadside driver drug screening, used by all 43 police forces in England, Wales and Scotland as well as hundreds of corporate clients said;

“Drink and drug driving remains the biggest strategic threat to roads policing, and I am delighted to see that NPCC and NRPOII are extending their support for Operation Limit beyond the festive period.

Some police forces have started to increase their focus on drink and drug driving even before Operation Limit officially gets underway.

Merseyside Police caught 25 drink and drug drivers within the first 24-hours of their campaign. According to their official X (formally Twitter) account, the force has made 172 arrests in 7-days, 47 for drink drive and 125 for drug drive. This clearly isn’t a problem confined to ‘party season’ which hasn’t even started yet.”