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New figures show Manchester motorists are breathalysed more often than anywhere else in the country, apart from Thames Valley in the South-East.

Analysis of Home Office data by breathalyser firm AlcoSense reveals that 11,780 roadside breath tests were undertaken by Greater Manchester Police in 2022.

Lancashire was ranked third with 11,617 tests. 

A total of 2,580 motorists in Greater Manchester were found to be ‘over the limit’ – again the second highest number in England and Wales.

The failure rate at 22% was significantly higher than the national average of 17%.

“I’d like to see more forces follow the example of Greater Manchester Police,” comments Hunter Abbott, MD of AlcoSense Laboratories.

“If you drink four pints of medium-strong beer or four large glasses of wine, it can take as long as 14 hours for the alcohol to clear your system.

“At the drink-drive limit in England and Wales you are 13 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than when sober”. 

Nationally there were 260 deaths where a motorist was over the drink drive limit – including 30 in the North-West, an alarming increase of 18% over the previous year and the highest since 2009.  Drunk drivers accounted for 17% of all road fatalities.

The Department for Transport estimate that the total number of people injured in drink drive accidents was 6,740 – up 4%.

“The rules are simple,” adds Hunter Abbott.  “If you’ve been drinking in the evening, don’t drive.  If you’re driving the next day, test yourself with a personal breathalyser to make sure you’re clear of alcohol”.

One in five drink drive convictions are the ‘morning after the night before’.