Nearly 60,000 drink and drug tests conducted in crackdown

• 8,648 arrests made for drink and drug driving offences 

• Positive results for drink driving remain below 10% 

• Breath tests following a collision show nearly 15% motorists testing positive for alcohol, at its highest since 2019 
• Drug wipes result in positive test results of over 42% 

Police officers proactively undertook 58,675 roadside tests for drink and/or drugs on drivers across the UK over the festive period in 2024 (1 Dec 2024 – 1 Jan 2025) as part of the nationally coordinated Operation Limit crackdown which sees 45 police forces across England, Wales and Northern Ireland working together.  

Intelligence and hotspot-led, roadside breath tests for alcohol saw nearly 10% of drivers testing positive (9.7%) with drug wipes resulting in 42.2% positive tests.  

Shockingly, 2,782 drivers were arrested for both drink and drug driving offences, almost double the number from previous years’ national operations. While many tests during Op Limit are proactive stops, tests following a collision showed 14.5% motorists testing positive for alcohol, the highest in these circumstances since 2019. Unfortunately this trend aligns with data from the Department for Transport (DfT) which also shows a rise in alcohol-related collisions.  

The figures prompt warnings from senior officers about the risks of driving under the influence, a ‘selfish and reckless’ decision that costs too many lives each year.  

Men continue to be disproportionately represented, making up 85% of the offences for driving under the influence of drink or drugs and 79% of offenders were 25 years of age or older.  

Chief Superintendent Marc Clothier is National Police Chiefs’ Council Operational Lead for Operation Limit. He said: 

“In 2023, 19.6% of fatal collisions were assigned at least one drink or drugs related factor. That's pretty much 20% of road deaths caused by drink or drugs, with a significant number occurring in December – two facts which are completely unacceptable and which make Op Limit so important.  

“Now in its third year of running as a national operation, the Christmas drink and drug driving crackdown brings together all police forces in a positive coordinated effort to tackle this driving behaviour. 

“The statistics of positive results and the demographics of offenders remain consistent and what is encouraging is to see the dedication and innovation which policing puts into this operation across the country. Many forces collaborate on a regional level, working cross border and strengthening their resources as a result.  

“In addition, we are seeing the numbers of collisions in December specifically as a result of drink or drug driving reduce each year, remaining consistently at the levels experienced during Covid when far less drivers were on the roads. While there will be many factors impacting this fall, we can certainly draw a link between policing’s increased focus and enforcement activity to tackle drink and drug driving over this time of year.   

“The decision to get behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol or drugs is reckless and selfish and it will not be tolerated. Not only do you risk your own life but you seriously endanger everyone else on the road and the tragic impact of your decision will be felt by individuals, families, friends and whole communities.” 

Collisions in December where drink and drug driving is a factor 

Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) lead for drink and drug driving, Police and Crime Commissioner for Durham, Joy Allen said:   

“With responsibility for supporting victims, PCCs see and deal with the devastating impact of drink and drug driving. 

“The Operation Limit results show that more intensive enforcement works. We want to see more resource invested in roads policing and the appropriate use of tougher penalties for drink and drug driving, including immediate bans and full cost recovery of the costs from offenders, to act as a greater deterrent and protect the public.” 

Key statistics not included in report 

• A total of 8,203 drivers were caught drink or drug driving during the period of enforcement activity, with 60% (4,940) drink drive offences detected and 40% (3,263) drug drive offences detected. A total of 74,456 vehicles were stopped during this campaign with 50,948 breath tests administered, resulting in 4,940 drivers testing positive, failed or refused to provide. 

• A total of 7,112 breath tests were administered following a collision, with 1,030 drivers committing a drink drive offence following a collision. 14.5% motorists tested positive for alcohol following a collision. This percentage is the highest it has been since 2019. 

Contextual data  

Drug driving: 

• Department for Transport (DfT) report (Drugs in reported road fatalities in Great Britain, data to 2022 - Published 25th July 2024) data shows that while alcohol impairment remains the leading cause of collisions, the gap between alcohol- and drug-impaired crashes has narrowed since 2014. Between 2014 and 2022, the number of deceased drivers in fatal collisions with drugs detected increased by over 70%.  

• In 2022, most drivers with detected drugs had illegal substances in their system (127), followed by query drugs (61) and prescribed drugs (27). Query drugs refer to substances that may have been administered medically after a collision but also have potential for abuse.  

• Illegal drugs were primarily found in deceased drivers aged 20 to 39, while medicinal drugs were more common in those aged 30 and older.  

• Among drivers aged 70 and above, medicinal drugs were detected more often than illegal drugs, though the overall numbers in this group were small.  

• The five most frequently detected substances were cocaine, benzoylecgonine (a cocaine metabolite), cannabis, morphine, and ketamine, highlighting cocaine and cannabis as the most common illegal drugs in road fatalities.  

• From 2014 to 2022, approximately two-thirds of casualties in drug-impaired collisions were fatalities. Of these, 91% were drivers with drugs detected in their system, indicating that most fatalities were drug-impaired drivers themselves. The majority of other casualties were passengers of the impaired driver. 

Drink driving 

• Recent DfT figures (Reported road casualties in Great Britain, involving illegal alcohol levels: 2022 - Published 25th July 2024) show that between 290 and 320 people were killed in collisions in Great Britain where at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit, with a central estimate of 300 deaths.  

• The central estimate of fatalities for 2022 is the highest level since 2009, and an increase compared to the previous year.  

• The central estimate of the number of deaths in collisions with at least one driver over the alcohol limit for 2022 is 300. This represents about 18% of all deaths in reported road collisions in 2022.  
• Overall, an estimated 6,800 people were killed or injured when at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit. This represents an increase of 1% from 6,740 in 2021. 
• DfT collisions data where drink/drugs were reported as a key factor: