Police Scotland has begun its annual festive crackdown on drink-driving offences, targeting motorists throughout the Christmas and Hogmanay period.
During a similar campaign last year, some 5,742 roadside breath and drug tests were performed, with 961 offences recorded.
The legal limit for drink-driving in Scotland is lower than the rest of the United Kingdom, allowing only 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
By comparison, England, Wales and Northern Ireland all have a higher limit of 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
None for the road
During the whole of 2024, Police Scotland prosecuted 4,427 motorists for being over the drink-drive limit, with 4,260 of them being convicted: a 96 percent conviction rate.
Although the overall number of drivers prosecuted in Scotland for drink-driving fell last year compared to 2023, it still marked a 15 percent increase compared to a decade ago.
In 2023, 10 people were killed by a drink-driver on Scottich roads, while 300 were injured. This number remains “unacceptably high”, says Hunter Abbott, managing director of personal breathalyser firm, AlcoSense.
“With Scotland’s lower drink-drive limit, even small amounts of alcohol can put you over the legal threshold,” notes Abbott.
Police Scotland taking action
Police Scotland’s festive drink-driving campaign will run until 2 January 2026, with targeted patrols in known hotspots such as Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, the Highlands, South Lanarkshire and Edinburgh.
Under Scottish law, being caught driving over the prescribed limit for alcohol will result in a minimum driving ban of 12 months. A prison sentence of up to six months is also possible, along with a maximum fine of £5,000.
A drink-driving offence remains on your driving licence for 11 years after the offence is committed, too.
Hunter Abbott commented: “The only reliable way to know you’re safe and legal to drive is to self-test with a personal breathalyser. Particularly the morning after a night out, when alcohol can remain in your system for many hours.”
WIN an AlcoSense Excel breathalyser
To help drivers stay safe and legal during the festive season, we have an AlcoSense Excel personal breathalyser to give away.
Worth £99.99, the award-winning AlcoSense Excel uses a similar sensor to those found in police-specification breathalysers, warning you when it isn’t safe to hit the road.
To be in with a chance to win, all you need to do is sign up to our weekly Motoring Research newsletter by 5pm on Thursday 18 December, using this link.
We will then draw one lucky winner at random from our newsletter subscribers, and notify them using email address they signed up with – so they can receive their AlcoSense Excel device in time for keeping safe on the road during the festive season.
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