More than 200 drink driving arrests by Lincolnshire Police over Christmas

Lincolnshire Police officers have arrested more than 200 motorists for drink driving over the Christmas period.

Officers have made 211 arrests as part of the Christmas anti-drink and drug drive campaign – up from 167 arrests during 2021’s Christmas campaign.

Inspector Jason Baxter, who leads the Roads Policing Unit, said that there is still work to be done in educating the public and the force would be happier “if we made no arrests as it would mean that the message is getting through to people that driving under the influence is not acceptable”:

“We still have work to do in educating the public that as well as being a criminal offence, driving under the influence is a selfish act which endangers the lives of other road users.”

In 2022, the force launched the Roads Policing Unit, a dedicated team of officers to proactively patrol the roads of Lincolnshire aiming to clamp down on drink and drug driving not just at Christmas, but all year round.

Inspector Jason Baxter said: “Last year 48 people died needlessly on our roads – the aim of the Roads Policing Unit is to significantly reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on Lincolnshire’s roads.

"We want to educate road users, promote road safety, and protect innocent road users across our county.

“Drugs and alcohol impair your ability to drive safely – your reaction times are slower which can lead to poor concentration and your chances of being involved in a collision are increased, risking the lives of yourself and other road users.

“Having a dedicated Roads Policing Unit means that we have more resource to patrol the roads in our county, and to keep residents safe. There is no excuse for drink or drug driving – this is a warning to anyone out there that if you are caught drink or drug driving any time of year, you will be arrested.”

If you have information relating to someone you think is driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, call Lincolnshire Police on 101, or 999 if they are posing imminent danger to themselves or others.

You can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111