Inverness drink driver who abandoned car labelled one of Scotland's worst
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Two of the three worst offenders caught during a festive drink and drug driving campaign were in Inverness, it has been revealed.
The results of Police Scotland's annual road safety campaign, which ran throughout December until Monday, January 2, have just been released.
They show that a total of 722 drink drug driving offences were detected compared with 628 detections during the last festive campaign.
In one incident, on December 18, witnesses reported they had seen a 51-year-old man abandon his car in the middle of the road in Inverness and he staggered down Crown Road.
He was traced a short time later and the roadside breath test showed he was more than seven times above the legal drink driving limit – with 156 microgrammes (ugs) of alcohol in 100ml of breath where the current limit is 22 ugs.
On December 24 police in Inverness received a call about a suspected drunk driver, a 49-year-old man, who turned up at his work and was also reported to police by his employer.
He left his work in his vehicle and was stopped near his home address. From the roadside breath test, he was more than five times above the legal drink driving limit (122ugs).
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Williams said: “Once again we are disappointed that people continue to take the risk of driving after consuming alcohol or drugs.
"As we strive to improve road safety, the campaign highlighted the risks associated with drink or drug driving through a combination of social media and officers carrying out roadside checks.
“Our campaign was very much intelligence led with a number of offenders reported to us by colleagues, friends or family. I would encourage you to continue to report concerning driving behaviour to us. Throughout the year our officers will continue to relentlessly target those who selfishly put others at risk by driving after consuming alcohol or drugs.”
During the campaign officers carried out a total of 3049 roadside tests with 722 drivers detected for drink or drug driving offences.
The campaign acknowledged the importance of increasing awareness of the risks associated with drink or drug driving as well as the contribution this makes toward reducing road casualties and attaining the Scottish Government`s casualty reduction targets.
All operational officers took part in the campaign and its aim was to influence road user behaviour and increase the safety of our roads, particularly for vulnerable road users.
