More young motorists are drink-driving, police warn

More people are drink-driving, police say, with young drivers being the most likely to get behind the wheel after drinking.

Traffic officers stopped and used the breathalyser on 88,629 drivers last month, the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) said, with 5,373 – about 6 per cent – testing positive, refusing or failing a breath test. It was up from 5.6 per cent during the same period last year.

Analysis revealed that 7.4 per cent of drivers under the age of 25 had been drink driving. "It is worrying that younger drivers continue to drink and drive and we will be redoubling our efforts to address this unacceptable behaviour," Chief Constable Phil Gormley, of Acpo, said.

John Franklin, a spokesman for the RAC, blamed a drop in road-safety campaigns as a result of government austerity cuts.

"The dangers of drink-driving need to be continually spelled out by the Government in order to prevent a generation from thinking it's acceptable," he said.