A total of 1,622 people were arrested for drink driving during the Garda's six-week Christmas crackdown, it emerged today.
The number represents an increase of 4 per cent on the same period last year when 1,558 people were arrested.
Gardaí said today 26 per cent more people, 2,262, were breath-tested compared to 1,794 during last year's campaign Some 19,415 drivers were caught speeding and 2,818 were detected not wearing seatbelts.
The figures show that 42 people were killed on the State's roads during the period, compared to 29 during last year's campaign. Three hundred and eighty people died on the State's roads last year, an increase of 44 on 2003.
In the North, the PSNI caught 10 per cent more motorists drink-driving over the Christmas period this year than they did for the same period last year.
In total the police detected 529 motorists during their anti-drink driving blitz, an increase of 51 on last year.
