Overview
- Surrey, Essex, North Yorkshire, Dorset, Hampshire and Isle of Wight, Merseyside, Avon and Somerset, West Mercia, and the PSNI confirmed month‑long enforcement drives with increased patrols and roadside testing.
- Early action in Merseyside included four arrests in the small hours, with one pursuit ending in a crash into a lamppost and a 21‑year‑old detained on suspicion of drink driving and other offences.
- Forces are deploying breathalysers, roadside drug‑wipe kits, ANPR, unmarked and marked units, checkpoints, early‑morning stops, and targeted checks such as Operation Lift Off for drivers leaving Southampton Airport.
- Dorset’s “Festive Feedback” promises callers an update after reporting a suspect, while Avon and Somerset introduced QR‑code reporting links to streamline public intelligence.
- Police cite prior data to justify the push, including AlcoSense figures showing December breath‑test surges and DfT statistics attributing 260 deaths, or about 16% of road fatalities, to drink‑drive collisions last year.