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Driving Under Influence

Answer

The information requested on breath tests conducted, broken down by police force area for the years 1997 to 2006 (latest available) are provided in the following table.Data for 2007 are due to be published in spring 2009.The Department for Transport publishes estimates on the number of drink-drive accidents where one or more of the motor vehicle drivers or riders involved were over the legal limit. These estimates are calculated on a national basis. Police force area estimates are not available.The estimates are published as an article 3, entitled ““Drinking and driving”” in ““Road Casualties Great Britain - Annual report 2007””. Copies of the report have been deposited in the Libraries of the House and is also available at the following web address:"http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/accidents/casualtiesgbar/roadcasualtiesgreatbritain20071"

Screening breath tests by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2006¹
Police force area	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Avon and Somerset	16,000	19,700	19,200	15,800	15,400	15,100	24,500	27,300	21,900	15,800
Bedfordshire	6,000	5,300	2,900	3,300	4,200	6,200	6,600	7,800	6,700	3,100
Cambridgeshire	19,100	17,800	13,600	12,800	12,700	13,000	12,300	12,300	12,500	12,500
Cheshire	25,500	23,300	20,500	15,800	13,600	12,200	11,900	20,200	22,000	35,700
Cleveland	31,600	34,200	28,600	18,800	14,100	11,000	8,700	8,100	10,800	11,300
Cumbria	11,200	9,400	7,100	6,100	5,100	4,700	5,500	8,400	13,600	13,800
Derbyshire	34,500	35,700	49,200	52,000	42,100	37,900	32,600	31,000	17,700	16,000
Devon and Cornwall	15,200	15,700	14,700	13,000	13,500	12,600	10,900	10,700	10,400	13,600
Dorset	9,100	10,100	9,200	12,300	10,400	10,400	8,500	6,900	7,900	8,700
Durham	4,300	7,400	12,700	15,300	16,300	9,500	7,600	6,100	7,700	6,900
Essex	28,700	28,400	24,100	27,200	18,900	16,100	15,500	25,300	34,200	28,400
Gloucestershire	9,400	9,300	8,300	8,200	9,600	9,300	8,600	7,100	9,100	10,100
Greater Manchester	35,500	31,200	21,500	27,300	23,900	23,200	20,900	19,900	18,900	18,100
Hampshire	25,000	27,300	31,600	35,200	35,200	35,200	37,500	38,400	38,300	34,800
Hertfordshire	7,400	8,100	7,000	6,000	5,500	4,300	4,000	7,300	11,900	12,700
Humberside	6,500	8,300	8,100	9,400	7,500	8,700	6,500	5,600	5,700	10,000
Kent	9,100	27,500	32,700	32,200	32,200	34,200	24,600	32,000	31,200	31,700
Lancashire	21,300	20,300	19,100	15,500	10,000	10,600	8,000	10,200	13,000	16,400
Leicestershire	10,200	20,200	21,100	18,800	14,900	14,500	12,000	15,800	14,400	10,000
Lincolnshire	20,200	25,900	21,000	12,100	13,600	9,000	12,100	11,300	11,400	10,600
London, City of	3,600	3,300	1,700	1,100	1,100	1,400	1,200	700	1,100	1,600
Merseyside	14,800	18,700	18,600	12,800	7,200	7,000	7,700	5,000	8,000	10,600
Metropolitan Police	137,900	111,400	99,800	93,800	65,100	57,200	56,000	61,500	67,500	65,000
Norfolk	9,200	12,400	11,600	9,100	9,100	5,300	4,000	4,800	10,400	7,800
North Yorkshire	10,500	9,900	8,100	6,700	7,400	7,300	8,300	8,600	9,300	10,100
Northamptonshire	7,100	4,700	5,300	5,800	4,500	3,300	3,100	3,200	5,200	4,300
Northumbria	11,900	12,200	12,500	12,700	12,400	11,800	11,100	9,800	9,300	7,900
Nottinghamshire	11,500	8,900	8,400	8,400	7,700	5,800	7,100	8,200	7,900	7,200
South Yorkshire	14,200	12,600	16,100	19,200	18,000	14,400	12,100	6,500	13,700	10,300
Staffordshire	13,800	15,400	10,100	7,700	4,700	5,300	5,100	13,700	14,300	12,700
Suffolk	12,300	15,600	15,100	9,200	8,600	8,900	11,600	10,600	8,900	9,100
Surrey	11,200	11,400	11,700	12,400	13,300	7,500	8,900	9,500	9,600	8,300
Sussex	26,100	17,400	17,900	20,800	21,800	17,300	17,200	15,200	18,000	18,700
Thames Valley	33,100	34,200	30,300	30,800	26,200	25,300	16,000	15,400	14,600	13,500
Warwickshire	8,700	8,700	8,600	7,100	5,800	5,100	5,800	5,500	4,800	4,500
West Mercia	18,300	19,100	12,300	8,900	9,100	8,200	6,300	8,000	8,800	11,300
West Midlands	22,600	24,100	21,300	16,200	12,200	10,500	11,000	6,600	6,900	6,200
West Yorkshire	23,300	22,900	18,800	18,300	17,200	16,700	14,200	16,900	15,400	18,000
Wiltshire	7,400	7,100	6,800	6,500	5,900	5,900	5,900	7,400	7,200	8,700
Dyfed-Powys	8,500	9,200	9,900	7,400	7,000	7,300	6,000	6,700	6,900	7,300
Gwent	12,200	11,200	10,600	10,100	6,400	3,800	2,800	1,600	2,000	1,700
North Wales	13,300	15,200	15,900	15,000	15,100	19,600	17,300	24,200	21,800	19,600
South Wales	23,100	24,900	20,700	17,800	19,300	17,500	16,900	16,700	16,300	17,100
England and Wales²	800,300	815,500	764,500	714,800	623,900	570,200	534,300	578,000	607,400	601,600
¹ Following a comparison between the number of positive breath tests reported by each police force in 2006 and the number of court proceedings for drink-driving related offences, it became clear that there was under-reporting in a number of forces. As a result Essex, Humberside, Lancashire, Norfolk, Northumbria, Staffordshire, Dyfed-Powys, Gwent and South Wales court proceedings figures have been substituted for the positive breath test figures. Similar adjustments were also made to various forces data between 1998 and 2005.
² Figures may not add up to total for England and Wales due to rounding.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

487 c1044-6W; 251340

Session

2008-09

Subjects

Breathalysers Driving under influence

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk