Police warning after 260 drug driving arrests

MORE than 260 South Yorkshire motorists were caught drug driving by police in the first nine months of breath tests being carried out.
By Michael Upton
Published 7th Jan 2016, 16:13 BST
Updated 11th Jan 2017, 11:05 BST

Figures obtained by the Advertiser show 264 drivers tested positive for cannabis or cocaine between March 2 — when tests were brought in — and the end of the year.

Of these, 29 were arrested by Rotherham officers, while 180 were stopped and caught out by traffic police who cover the whole county.

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The Advertiser has asked police to provide figures for Rotherham motorists tested and caught over the limiti by traffic officers.

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The 29 failed tests in Rotherham included 22 for cannabis, four for cocaine and three for both.

Sheffield had 28 offenders caught during the same period, Doncaster 18 and Barnsley 9.

County-wide, there were 196 tests positive for cannabis, 50 for cocaine and 18 for both.

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Road police caught 132 drivers with illegal levels of cannabis in their system, 36 with cocaine and 12 with both.

There were 459 tests across the county, with 264 positive for drugs and 195 negative.

Insp Craig Clifton, from the Serious Collisions Unit, said: “We are continuing to educate people about the devastating impacts drink and drug driving can have on not only the driver's life, but on the lives of other people, too.

“We have tested nearly 500 drivers for drugs and arrested nearly 300 of them for driving while under the influence of drugs in 2015 and, while it is encouraging that we are stopping these drivers, even one impaired driver getting behind the wheel is still one too many.

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“By getting behind the wheel after drinking alcohol or taking drugs, you are not only putting your own life at risk, but also the life of every other road user, too.

“This can have an extremely negative impact on your own life, and on someone else’s.

“We don't want to stop people from enjoying themselves but we want them to think about the negative, potentially life-changing possibilities for them, and the lives of others, if they drive while under the influence of alcohol.

“Our overall aim is to reduce the numbers of casualties on our roads, targeting impaired drivers goes some way to helping us achieve this.”