A new study has found the top 10 hotspots for drink-driving offences across the UK, with many police forces making thousands of arrests across a three-year period.
Drink driving is one of the most serious offences a motorist can commit, with alcohol significantly slowing down reaction times and altering perception, creating a much higher risk of causing a devastating accident.
The data from law firm Legal Expert via Freedom of Information (FOI) Requests found UK police forces recorded 100,578 drink-driving offences between December 2021 and November 2024 – with 33,000 logged in the last year alone.
A staggering amount of drivers still get behind the wheel whilst over the alcohol limit, with the study finding that London had the highest number of drink-driving offences in the three-year period.
During the three-year period, no fewer than 12,688 drink-driving arrests were made – over 3,000 more than in any other part of the country.
Whilst previous studies have found that the number of drink-driving casualties in the capital is particularly low, at 2.5% of all cases in the UK, London’s LARGE population means that a higher number of drivers have taken their chances behind the wheel.
Another drink-driving hotspot between 2021 and 2024 was Northern Ireland, with Legal Expert highlighting 9,413 recorded cases that resulted in an arrest.
According to data from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the most common age group to be caught over the limit is drivers between 31 and 49, with 81% being men.
Like England and Wales, motorists in Northern Ireland must be under 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath in order to legally take to the roads.
Finally, Legal Expert noted that the West Midlands was another problematic area for drink driving, with 7,270 recorded arrests taking place over the three-year period.
Compared to Northern Ireland, the majority of offenders were generally younger, with those aged between 20 and 29 being the most common.
The region, which features a wide range of popular cities such as Birmingham and Coventry, also had one of the highest percentage of male drink-drivers – accounting for 85 percent of all offenders.
London – 12,688
Northern Ireland – 9,413
West Midlands – 7,270
West Yorkshire – 7,254
Essex – 4,623
South Wales – 3,333
South Yorkshire – 3,201
Surrey – 3,007
Sussex – 2,887
Avon and Somerset – 2,003
