Thames Valley Police: Drink or drug drivers ‘will be dealt justice’
Thousand of people are expected to be celebrating New Year’s Eve tonight
As the countdown to 2025 approaches, Thames Valley Police are warning anyone who drink or drug drives that they ‘will be dealt justice’.
It comes as thousands of people are expected to be celebrating New Year’s Eve across Oxfordshire tonight.
“Take the sensible option”
Detective Sergeant Tony Jenkins, of the Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "We do everything that we can to bring them to justice."
He added: “There are consequences, you can’t operate complex machinery and do complex manoeuvres whilst impaired.
“I’ve dealt with some cases where other people are caught up in that wrong decision making and that’s very tragic. So, it’s not always people that you know or yourself – it’s the risk to the community and other road users.”
Sergeant Matt Cadmore, of the Joint Operations Roads Policing Unit, has this advice ahead of tonight: “Plan ahead if you’re going out with your friends, don’t take your car keys with you, just take your house keys and pre-arrange a taxi.
“Also, if you know you’re going to be getting into a car and they may have had a drink of alcohol – take the sensible option and put yourself in a taxi, don’t put yourself at unnecessary risk.”
The law (drink driving):
The legal alcohol limit in England and Wales for driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
Scotland is even tighter, with the limit being 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 22 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
Thames Valley Police say on their website: “There is no way to know how much you can drink and stay under the limit, since it can depend on your weight, age, metabolism, the amount of food you've eaten and other factors.
“It's impossible to get alcohol out of your system quickly, it always takes time. A shower, a cup of coffee or other ways of ‘sobering up’ may make you feel better but won’t remove the alcohol from your system.”
The police can stop you at any time breathalyse you if:
• they think you’ve been drinking
• you’ve committed a traffic offence
• you’ve been involved in a road traffic collision
If you refuse to take a breath test or fail to supply a sample of breath and don't have a ‘reasonable excuse’, you can be arrested.
Drug driving
The limit set for each drug is different, and for illegal drugs the limits set are extremely low. The reason they aren't set to zero is to rule out any accidental exposure (eg. from passive smoking).
Thames Valley Police say on their website: “You should always check with your doctor or pharmacist if you're unsure about whether your prescription or over-the-counter medication will affect your ability to drive.”
The police can stop you and conduct a roadside screening test or a field impairment test, both of which may result in your arrest if:
• they think you have taken drugs
• you’ve committed a traffic offence
• you’ve been involved in a road traffic collision
Officers can test for cannabis and cocaine at the roadside, and screen for other drugs – including ecstasy, LSD, ketamine and heroin – at a police station.