Police want 'extreme' drink-drive penalties

A TOP Lothians police officer today called for tougher sentences to tackle a "hard-core" of drink drivers, including the one in four offenders who were two or more times the legal limit.

More than 130 people were arrested for drink and drug driving by police in the region during the four-week Christmas crackdown. The number of drivers held has remained largely steady over the past five years, leading to fears that the safety message is not getting through.

The officer in charge of the campaign today called for tougher penalties to dissuade serious and repeat offenders. Inspector Jill Kerr, from the force's road policing unit, said custodial sentences or lifetime driving bans could be among the measures considered.

Across the Lothians, 133 people were arrested for drink driving over the festive season. The highest number of arrests were made in Edinburgh, where 64 people were caught by police checks.

Worryingly, more than a quarter of those tested in the Lothians were found to be more than twice the legal driving limit.

The figure is down on last year's total of 153, but is a slight increase on both 2004/5, when 130 people were arrested, and 2005/6, when there were 117 arrests.

One of those caught was a 45-year-old woman in Tranent, East Lothian, who was found to be three times over the limit, and who had been charged with failing to provide a breath test last December.

Insp Kerr, who co-ordinated the drink-drive campaign, said: "The figures are down on last year, which is encouraging, but over the last four years they have been quite steady and it seems there is a hard-core of drink drivers who are just not getting the message.

"The fact that 25 per cent of those people arrested were found to be more than two times over the limit is very concerning, and too many people are drinking too much and then driving.

"We need to get through to them, and I feel that tougher sentences may be the best way to do that."

Current sentences can see drivers banned for up to two years and landed with hefty fines. A custodial sentence or a lifetime driving ban are among the measures which Insp Kerr agreed could be looked at.

"Certainly I feel we need to look at a more extreme form of punishment, as this kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated," she said.

During the crackdown there were also 24 arrests in Mid- and East Lothian, 38 in West Lothian, and just seven in the Scottish Borders division. The figures included two arrests for drug driving.

The majority of offenders – 84 per cent – were male, with almost half of those arrested men aged between 26 and 55 years old.

The second largest group was men under the age of 25, which covered 30 per cent of the arrests.

• Almost a third of young motorists in the UK admit to drinking and driving, with many saying they feel fine behind the wheel after consuming alcohol, a survey revealed today.

A fifth of 17-24-year-olds also owned up to driving while under the influence of drugs in the survey from motoring website and magazine Auto Trader.