Police across Merseyside say the annual Operation Limit campaign continues to highlight the dangers of driving under the influence, as figures show hundreds of arrests during the month-long initiative.
00:01Christmas party season is now well underway and with that comes one of the busiest times of year for police on the roads.
00:08Maerside Police say they're continuing intensive enforcement as part of Operation Limit, the national campaign that increases the focus on drink and drug driving from the beginning of December into the new year.
00:18We're here on an Operation Limit roadside check site. It's something that we do throughout the festive period and throughout the year to be fair, but we do have a massive intensification on the road up to Christmas.
00:28In just the first week alone, officers made 105 arrests for drug and drink driving across the region.
00:33This month alone for Operation Limit, we've already arrested 166 people. People just aren't getting the message. You keep saying to them, we are out in force, morning, evenings, and it's just not making any difference.
00:43The force is putting particular emphasis on what it calls morning after risk. Officers say too many drivers wrongly assume they're safe to drive after a night out despite still having alcohol or drugs in their system.
00:54Maerside Police says that anyone stopped at eight in the morning and found to be over the limit will face exactly the same consequences as they would in the early hours.
01:03Loads of sleep, loads of coffee, makes no difference whatsoever. It's how quick your body can metabolise that drug or that alcohol.
01:10So you might feel fresh, but it's still in your system and we can detect it and it could be your licence.
01:14Police say the consequences of causing death by dangerous or careless driving whilst under the influence can include life, imprisonment, alongside long-term impacts on insurance, employment and travel.
01:26They're urging the public to report suspected impaired driving by calling 999 immediately or to contact Crimestoppers anonymously for non-urgent information.
01:33People do forget. I think definitely with drugs, they don't realise that they stay in your system for a long time.
01:39But if you're drinking or taking drugs the night before, they will be in your system in the morning and we will catch you.
01:44We do catch many people in the morning after. You mentioned the takeaway places.
01:48Some people want to come and get something to eat in the morning after a heavy night.
01:51You know, we're here doing this today. We could be here tomorrow. We could be anywhere.
01:55Throughout December, officers are carrying out increased patrols with breath tests and drug wipes taking place at all times of the day,
02:01including early mornings and commuter routes. They say they'll be visible in town centres, near venues and at collision hotspots,
02:08while unmarked patrols will target high-risk behaviour across the region.
02:12We catch far more drug drivers these days than we do drink and that's because as a force we really invest heavily in our drug dissection
02:18and training all our frontline officers. But the drink driving, maybe people are starting to get their message, drug driving, definitely not.
02:24I don't think they understand how low the levels can be. You need to make a decision.
02:29If you take drugs, which we don't want you to do, you can't drive. You'll be over that limit.
02:33Road Policing Inspector Gavin Dixon says the force hopes its presence in locations such as fast food drive-thrus
02:39will prompt people to think twice about driving the morning after drinking.
02:44I've done this job for a long time and I've seen the devastation that can be caused.
02:47Having to tell a family member that their loved one's been killed, there's nothing like it.
02:51But also for yourself, if you lose your licence, it could be your career, it could be your ability to maybe travel to certain countries.
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