IT WAS certainly a festive season of shame as far as drink and drug driving were concerned.
There have been long faces at road safety organisations after figures released reveal that thousands of people chose to put themselves and others at risk over Christmas by driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs.
Figures released by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) show that 7,124 drivers were arrested during a month-long drink-drive crackdown that ran across England and Wales from December 1, 2011 until January 1, 2012.
Across all age groups, this represented 4.55 per cent of those who were breath-tested. For drivers under the age of 25, 5.73 per cent of those tested were arrested, demonstrating a need to press on with drink-drive education among this younger age group.
On drug driving, 540 field impairment tests were conducted (a rise from 396 during the previous year's campaign), and 91 (16.85 per cent) of those tested were then arrested.
It is this last figure which I find the most worrying. While organisations have been banging on about the dangers of drink, many people have foolishly taken the view that driving with drugs is okay.
And this is where the road safety brigade needs to concentrate because drugs are just as lethal as drink when in comes to driving.
And they have a job on their hands. We have seen three decades of drink-drive education and enforcement, and yet so many drivers were caught drinking and driving in just one month - and they were just the ones who got caught.
The sobering thought is that 250 people were killed in drink-drive accidents on Great Britain's roads in 2010 - accounting for 14 per cent of all road fatalities.
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