A total of 322 drink drivers were arrested during the pre-Christmas period, with a 14-year-old failing a breath test.
That’s a drop of 10.6 per cent compared to the same period last year.
The number of drivers and motorcyclists detected was 38 less than during the same period in 2017/18.
The figures have been released following the PSNI’S winter anti-drink drive operation. They relate to the period 30 November 2018 to 1 January 2019.
One person was detected at over four times the drink drive limit.
Commenting on the figures, Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said: “When we launched this operation at the end of November, we warned drivers not to take the risk because just one drink can impair decision making. Just one drink can cause a collision. Just one drink could kill.
“Early figures indicate that we tested over 11,000 people during the operation. While that figure is expected to increase as more information is downloaded, we detected and arrested 322 people for failing those tests,” he said.
“They can now expect a court appearance where they will most likely lose their driving licence for one or more years, be fined, and will have great difficulty in obtaining car insurance in the future. Some are at risk of losing their jobs or even going to jail.”
He said one person was detected at over four times the drink drive limit, with a reading of 153 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millimetres of breath – the legal limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
“At 14 years of age, the youngest person detected shouldn’t have been on the road – let alone failing a breath test. This individual is being dealt with for a number of motoring offences including Taking and Driving Away,” he said.
The oldest person detected was 83 years of age. Women accounted for 72 of the 322 arrests, compared with 49 females arrested out of a total of 360 during the previous campaign.
Detections were made at all times of the day, across the road network.
After being stopped by police for travelling at 101mph at 9am one morning, the driver then subsequently also failed a roadside breath test, with an initial reading of 101mg – nearly three times the drink drive limit.
In another incident, after being involved in a collision, another driver was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs – approximately £3,000 worth of suspected drugs were recovered from their vehicle, leading to them being further arrested on suspicion of a number of drug offences.
In another incident, police detected and arrested a HGV driver who was returning to their place of work, having carried out their morning deliveries.
“We shouldn’t be detecting people driving with any alcohol in their system,” Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd said.
“It’s disappointing that despite our repeated and well publicised warnings, a minority of people completely disregarded the safety of themselves and others by taking the shameful and incredibly dangerous risk of driving after drinking,” he added.
This year’s operation was also supported by the independent charity Crimestoppers, which gave the public the opportunity to speak up and provide information about drink drivers anonymously.
Sue Brew, regional manager for Northern Ireland Crimestoppers said during December, they saw a 65% increase in actionable calls with information about drink driving, when compared to the average for the previous seven months.
“As we said at the outset of this campaign, by trusting us with your information you’ll remain 100% anonymous. Always. We never take personal details and calls to our Contact Centre on 0800 555 111 and information passed through the Anonymous Online Form at www.crimestoppers-uk.org cannot be traced. Together we can help protect those you care about,” she added.
Assistant Chief Constable Todd warned against even having even one drink when driving as the consequences can be ‘catastrophic.’
“If everyone slowed down, did not drive after drinking or taking drugs, wore a seatbelt and drove with greater care and attention then together we can save lives on our roads,” he added.