Major crackdown on drink-drivers

Officers will speak to motorists at special checkpoints, looking for signs they under the influence of drink or drugs.

And anyone involved in an accident or caught committing a traffic offence will automatically be breathalysed.

Police will also stop motorists if they suspect them to be over the drink-drive limit or high on illegal drugs as part of the campaign, which will run until September 2.

South Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Med Hughes, who represents the Association of Chief Police Officers on road policing issues, said: "The summer drink and drug driving campaign will be fully enforced throughout South Yorkshire.

"We will focus on young male drivers who consistently prove to be the greatest risk group.

"We are particularly worried about drug driving as well as drunken driving and will be testing drivers appropriately.

"Beyond the campaign itself we intend to maintain our focus on this issue as a force and I will continue to campaign for a change in the law to make enforcement simpler."

Chf Insp Ian Bint, South Yorkshire Police head of roads policing, said: "A lot of people have a lot of time off over the summer months, like at Christmas, so with more opportunity to drink they may be more tempted to drive.

"We run these annual campaigns to focus attention on the issue.

"We are on the lookout for drivers under the influence of drink or drugs all year round but for the duration of the campaign all officers not responding to day-to-day incidents are focused on this.

"We are getting better at detecting drug drivers now with over 100 officers having undergone training, so the number of detections is likely to rise this year in response to us carrying out more roadside tests.

"Over the last two years there have been six fatalities on South Yorkshire's roads due to drink or drug-driving – one pedestrian, two drivers and three passengers.

"It's not always the drivers that just kill themselves."

During the last annual Christmas campaign 5,599 motorists were tested for drink-driving, with 329 failing the test or refusing to comply.

So far this year officers have drug tested more drivers than they did during the whole of 2006 – a total of 57 to date, with just over a quarter proving positive.