A quick history lesson.

Back in 1967, The Road Safety Act introduced the first maximum legal blood alcohol (drink driving) limit in the UK.

The limit was set at a maximum BAC (blood alcohol concentration) of 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood or the equivalent 107 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.

It became an offence to drive, attempt to drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration that exceeded the maximum prescribed legal limit. In the same year, the breathalyser act was given royal assent.

The introduction of the breathalyser in the UK, along with a heavy Government advertising campaign, helped decrease the percentage of road traffic accidents where alcohol had been a factor from 25 per cent to 15 per cent in the first year.

This resulted in 1,152 fewer recorded deaths, 11,177 fewer serious injuries and 28,130 fewer slight injuries caused by road traffic accidents.

So this was a good thing then. Drivers know they can't drink and drive. It's not a new phenomenon – the law has been in place for 50 years so you would assume the message has got home.

Apparently not.

I am indebted to reporter Josh Pennington for this story on the Guardian's website.

From December 1 to January 1,140 people were arrested in Cheshire for drink driving, with a further 87 arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of illegal drugs. All of those 237 people arrested are now likely to face lengthy driving bans and large fines.

Northwich Local Police Unit, which includes Winsford as well as Northwich, arrested 15 people for drink driving, and five people for drug driving, while Crewe LPU, which includes Middlewich, arrested 23 people for drink driving and 25 people for drug driving – the highest of all Cheshire’s LPUs.

Unsurprisingly, David Keane, police and crime commissioner for Cheshire, was not impressed. He said: “I am disappointed to see that some motorists on Cheshire’s roads have not followed warnings issued by Cheshire Police to not drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

"People know the dangers of drink and drug driving, yet we’ve still seen drivers put their own lives and the lives of other road users and pedestrians in danger over the Christmas period.”

As part of the festive police campaign, there were 1,230 breath tests carried out, resulting in 140 arrests, and 123 drug tests leading to 87 arrests.

Superintendent Jo Marshall-Bell, of Cheshire's road policing unit, said: “Over the campaign period we took a much more focused, intelligence-led, approach, targeting the ‘who, when, where’, which has been borne out in the results.

“Driving under the influence of either alcohol or drugs is extremely dangerous; it affects your reaction time, making it harder for you to judge your speed, judge your distance between you and other vehicles and notice potential hazards. All of this means that you are more likely to be involved in a collision.

"All of those arrested as part of this operation will now have to face the consequences of their actions, which will have a significant impact on both their personal and professional lives."

Before you have that 'one for the road', you might want to ponder just what the potential consequences could be.

  • If you’re found guilty of a drink drive or drug drive offence, you face a minimum mandatory driving ban of 12 months. The higher you are over the limit the longer the disqualification with no upper limit on how long you could be banned from driving.
  • In addition to a lengthy ban, a convicted drink driver faces a significant fine calculated to their earnings.
  • If your alcohol reading is above a certain level (typically around two or three times the current limit) a court will impose a community order or even a prison sentence for a very high alcohol reading and repeat offenders.
  • A drink driving conviction is a criminal offence and will appear on employment checks for several years and you will almost certainly lose your job if driving is an essential part of your employment.
  • When you are eventually entitled to drive again, you may struggle to get insurance. Many insurers simply refuse drivers with a drink or drug drive conviction.
  • You can forget that family trip to Disneyland. The USA, Australia and Canada may well refuse you entry if you’re convicted of a drink or drug driving offence.

Cheers.