Drink-driving arrests rise by 20 per cent

Gardaí arrested over 1,100 people during the first four weeks of their Christmas drink-driving campaign, a rise of over 20 per…

Gardaí arrested over 1,100 people during the first four weeks of their Christmas drink-driving campaign, a rise of over 20 per cent on last year.

A total of 1,108 people were detained for offences, including drink driving, refusing or failing a breathalyser test and being in control of a vehicle while over the limit.

This is well ahead of last year’s figure of 875 for the same four-week period. The Garda campaign started at midnight on November 25th

Figures for this year revealed the number of motorists breathalysed in 2001 is also up on the previous year with 2,628 tests done, compared with 1,848 in 2000.