Road safety campaigners are demanding a "zero tolerance" approach to drink drivers after the number arrested over Christmas rose by a third in West Yorkshire.

Nationally, more than 145,000 drivers were breath-tested for alcohol last December and 6.6 per cent proved to be positive, slightly down on the 6.9 per cent figure for 2005. Positive drug-drive tests went up from 33 per cent to 37.7 per cent.

In West Yorkshire, 420 motorists were arrested after testing positive - 100 more than in 2005. In Bradford and Keighley the figure was 115.

Police said they were concerned about the increase and vowed to continue to rigorously to enforce the law.

But West Yorkshire road safety groups demanded a reduction in the drink drive limit and tougher action on drink drivers.

Carole Whittingham, the founder of SCARD (Support and Care After Road Death and Injury), said: "We need a Government to grasp the nettle and bring in zero tolerance.

"We come 25th out of 26 countries in the European Union for our tolerance of drinking and driving. The drink-drive figures for the Yorkshire area are appalling and we need a completely new outlook."

Mrs Whittingham, whose 27-year-old son was killed by a drink driver in 1992, also called for random roadside drink drive checks and stiffer penalties for offenders, including longer disqualifications, higher fines, the permanent removal from roads of repeat offenders and jail sentences for those who kill or seriously injure through drink-driving.

She said: "We need action urgently or it is inevitable that more people will be killed or seriously injured on the roads."

Mrs Whittingham said she understood some roadside police officers had been moved to city centre street patrols.

"Traffic policing officers are not being allowed to get on with the job they were appointed to do. If there are not enough police on the roads, people are going to get away with it."

West Yorkshire road safety charity Brake also called for a significant lowering of the drink drive limit.

The legal limit in Britain is 80mgs of alcohol per 100mls of blood. The level throughout most of Europe is 50mgs of alcohol, while some Scandinavian countries, including Sweden and Norway, permit only 20mgs.

Dianne Feereiere, of Brake, said it wanted the level brought down to at least 50mgs, but the preferred target was 20mgs.

She said: "We are calling for zero tolerance. Bringing the level down to 50 or 20 would send out the message not to drink at all, whereas at the moment people think they can have a couple of drinks and be under the limit.

"We want to be in line with EU recommendations and other EU countries. It is discouraging that we are among the highest in Europe for permitted levels."

Brake also wants targeted roadside drink driving tests, particularly at pub and club closing times, and mobile laboratory booze buses' for testing on the road.

Steve Thornton, chairman of the West Yorkshire Road Safety Strategy Group and principal engineer for Bradford South, said the latest figures showed that drink and drugs driving continued to be a problem.

He said the Government had looked at lowering the drink drive limit but decided against it.

He said: "There are a lot of things we are doing, but we can't relax our efforts. Wilful disregard of the law is something we have got to look at."

Mr Thornton said his group had spoken to the Government about getting more emphasis and priority on roads policing. He said there were not enough roads policing officers.

Inspector Russell Clark, West Yorkshire Police's Head of Roads Policing, said police had arrested 400 people a month for drink driving during 2006.

Insp Clark said: "Our continuous pro-active work and enforcement activity is keeping the lid on the rise in collisions involving drink or drugs, which is occurring elsewhere in the country.

"The disappointing aspect is that there seems to be a hard core of people who are refusing to heed the message and give up drink driving.

"The message is one of zero tolerance in that if you are driving, don't think about the limits - just don't drink.

"A standard drink-drive limit would remove temptation and effectively say don't drink.'"

Insp Clark said police would continue to target locations and drivers and urged the public to contact police or Crimestoppers if they suspected someone was drink driving.

  • Click here to see Our View

  • Start or join a debate on this issue in our online forum - Click here