The sheer number of drink and drug driving arrests made in Greater Manchester in last year

Greater Manchester Police made a staggering number of drink and drug driving arrests in the last 12 months.

From August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023, Greater Manchester Police made 5,256 drink and drug drive-related arrests. The figures include custody arrest records for any drink or drug drive offence including a failure to provide a specimen.

The numbers are significantly higher than in previous years and are more than double the 1,952 drink and drug drive-related arrests made in 2019, the 2,248 such arrests in 2020 and 2,121 arrests in 2021.

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4,493 drink and drug drive-related arrests were made in Greater Manchester throughout 2022, which will include some of the arrests featured in the figures for the August 2022 - July 2023 period.

The figures have been released as part of an innovative ‘Your Car Can’t Say No’ campaign by Safer Roads Greater Manchester (SRGM), which aims to highlight the dangers of driving after drinking alcohol or taking drugs.

Data released last month by the Department of Transport found that an estimated 240 fatal drink-drive collisions occurred across the UK in 2021, which is the highest level since 2009.

“Drink and drug driving is one the ‘fatal four’ alongside speeding, use of mobile devices and the failure to wear seatbelts,” Superintendent Gareth Parkin said. “Simply put, drink and drug driving costs lives.

“Any amount of alcohol or drugs in your system can affect your judgement or ability to drive safe, so make sure you allow enough time before getting behind the wheel.

“You’re more likely to engage in risk taking behaviour after drinking, which can mean your driving is more dangerous. This puts