Rise in proportion of drink-drivers during festive campaign
One in 35 drivers stopped by police during the festive drink-drive campaign were over the legal limit.
One in 35 drivers stopped by police during the festive drink-drive campaign were over the legal limit.
The figure was a higher proportion than the previous festive enforcement period in 2014 when one in 50 drivers were over the limit.
Police Scotland tested 16,225 drivers between December 3 and January 1, with 459 found to be over the limit, while 17,504 people were tested during the 2014 campaign, with 351 caught out.
The seasonal spike contrasts with a general downward trend for the year, with fewer drivers found to be over the limit in 2015, at 5,204, compared with the previous year, at 5,503.
The drink-drive limit was lowered at the beginning of December 2014, reduced from 80mg of alcohol in every 100ml of blood to 50mg.
Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: It is encouraging to see that the number of people caught drink-driving has fallen since the introduction of the lower limit.
Unfortunately, there is still a persistent minority of drivers who continue to ignore the law, particularly during the height of summer and over the festive season.
Campaigns like this one help to reinforce the message that drink-driving is unacceptable.
Of the 459 drivers caught drink-driving, just 19 were found to be between the old and new limit.
This shows that the majority of those caught are well over the limit, which is why we are working with Police Scotland on enforcement campaigns like this to crack down on this persistent minority.''