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Ignitions locks and seizure of vehicles are two new measures that police are investigating if drink driving levels in Guernsey cannot be brought to a halt.
21 people were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol during the 2020 Christmas Drink Drive Campaign. 10 of those people were stopped as a result of proactive police checks, 6 were involved in RTCs, and 5 were called in by members of the public.
Guernsey Police said these numbers are "higher than expected, and very disappointing".
“If people are going out to drink, have a plan about how you are going to get out, and how you are going to get home, that doesn’t involve your car," said Roads Policing Inspector Tom Marshall.
"Drink driving continues to be dangerous, and although during this period we haven’t seized any vehicles, it remains an option to us in any serious cases that arise. We will continue to deal robustly with drink driving during 2021, and those that choose to do so will be caught, and will be dealt with appropriately by the courts.”
21 people were arrested on suspicion of drink driving in December, a simply unacceptable number – 21 more than what we would deem acceptable in fact.
— Guernsey Police (@GuernseyPolice) January 22, 2021
See what our Roads Policing Inspector Tom Marshall had to say below.
The bottom line is simple though, don't drink and drive. pic.twitter.com/HKU8IF4eha
Drug & Alcohol Strategy Coordinator Andrea Nightingale revealed that strict new measures could be introduced if people don't adhere to the law.
“We want to obviously prevent as much drink driving as we possibly can, but also look at the reoffending side of it," she said.
"We know that drink drivers will continue driving if they aren’t caught, so there may be measures such as ignition locks that can go on to vehicles if you have been convicted of a drink driving offence.
"Those might be some things that we have to look to implementing during 2021 and in the future if we cannot get the amount of drink drivers down.”
Guernsey's Courts have the power to seize vehicles for significant driving offences, at the request of the Prosecution, and have done so twice in the last 12 months.
There are less cars on the roads at the moment, as people that can are working from home, but that does not mean you can start testing the limits of how fast you can go. A speed limit is just that, a limit, do not drive any faster than the road you are on allows for. pic.twitter.com/S1io1pmj72
— Guernsey Police (@GuernseyPolice) January 27, 2021
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