"It's simply not worth it."

• Police forces taking part in Op Limit, national Christmas drink and drug driving campaign 

• Increased vehicle stops taking place throughout December 

• Over 400 casualties each December as a result of driving under influence of alcohol or drugs 

For the third year running policing’s national Christmas campaign to tackle drink and drug driving is in operation, bringing together police forces across the country in enforcement and education activity. 

Many police forces undertake a proactive operation around Christmas each year to increase roadside testing and targeted vehicle stops for drivers suspected of being under the influence. Christmas 2022 saw the first national operation, called Op Limit, to coordinate this activity across the country and since then it has continued to make an impact in removing drink and drug drivers from UK roads.  

On average, 2,000 people each year are killed or seriously injured in collisions where drink or drugs are a factor and more than 150 of these incidents occur in the month of December. Driving under the influence of drink or drugs remains one of the ‘Fatal Four’ behaviours which cause road deaths.  

A number of tactics are deployed by police forces taking part in the operation; engaging in education and awareness events, communications around the risks of driving under the influence, targeted vehicle stops in hot spot areas and intelligence led patrols. 

Nearly 50,000 breath tests (49,812) were conducted in 2023 with almost 10 (9.5) per cent of those testing positive, failed or refused. 6,846 drug tests were conducted with nearly 50 (48.5) per cent of those testing positive. 

84 per cent of drink or drug driving offenders were male with 74 per cent 25 years old or over. 6,616 arrests were made for drink and drug driving offences and 1,589 individuals were charged. 

Chief Constable Jo Shiner is National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for roads policing. She said: 

“Drink and drug driving is responsible for many serious and fatal collisions every year and it is completely avoidable.  

“Op Limit has strength in not only coordinating robust enforcement activity, but also through sending a clear message from policing that this behaviour will not be tolerated. If you make the reckless decision to drive under the influence or drink or drugs, you will be caught and you will face the consequences of your actions. 

“We know that drink or drug driving significantly increases the risk of being involved in a serious collision and sadly in policing we see the horrific impact of this every day. Drink or drug driving reduces reaction time, severely hampers the ability to process information and make decisions and will often lead to a higher likelihood of risk taking. And it isn’t just the driver it affects, it puts every road user at risk and the impact will be felt through families and whole communities. Quite simply, it just isn’t worth it.” 

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

“Once again, we’ve had positive support for Op Limit from across policing with all forces committing to take part, localising their response and undertaking innovative work in their efforts to put a stop to drink and drug driving.  

“We also have great support from our partner agencies including the Department for Transport’s THINK campaign, RAC, National Highways, Crimestoppers and ROSPA. This collective work not only helps increase our impact but it sends a very strong message that drink or drug driving is unacceptable.” 

The Future of Roads Minister, Lilian Greenwood said: 

“While December is rightly a time of Christmas parties and get togethers, driving over the limit and drug driving puts everyone on our roads in danger.

"That's why I’m supporting the NPCC's Operation Limit, which will increase roadside stops and keep more people safe, while our THINK! campaign is reminding young people that even one or two drinks before driving could have devastating consequences."

If you suspect someone of drink or drug driving, call 999 to report to the police immediately.