Police forces across the country have staged a month-long operation to catch drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs — with more than 3,500 failed tests recorded.
The crackdown took place in June — with all police forces from England and Wales taking part — and saw 38,807 vehicles stopped, with 35,282 breath tests given.
Of those tests, 3,533 tests failed — the highest proportion since recording began in December 2015.
Results remained fairly consistent across a variety of conditions. Eleven per cent of vehicles stopped not involving collisions resulted in a failed test, while those after collisions resulted in an 8.3 per cent failure rate.
As for age groups, 9.7 per cent of under 25s failed, with that figure dropping by a mere 0.1 of a percentage point for those over 25 — a 9.6 per cent positive test rate.
Sussex Police assistant chief constable Steve Barry said: “We are committed to enforcing the law to educate people about the penalties they face and the serious threat to life presented by this irresponsible and dangerous behaviour.
“While we continue to see benefits of new drug driving laws and testing kits resulting in more detections, the scale of this problem remains a real concern for police.
“Thousands of people still attempt to drive after drinking or taking drugs – you are making a selfish decision that puts your own life and the lives of others at risk. Our message is the same all year round – don’t do it.”
