What impact has World Cup had on drink drive arrests in Peterborough?
England may have suffered heartbreak against Argentina in Atlanta, but it has been a festival of football over the past couple of months.
Combined with the summer sunshine, many people have been out enjoying the football and the weather over June and July.
There had been fears this would lead to a rise in drink driving – especially with the late kick offs.
However, figures from Cambridgeshire Police have shown that there has only been a small rise in the number of people arrested for drink or drug driving in Peterborough since the tournament started.
A spokesperson for the force said that between June 11 and July 13 this year, there have been 28 people arrested on suspicion of drink/drug driving or failure to provide a specimen.
During the same period last year, the number was 25.
The legal alcohol limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
It's an offence to drive with any of 17 controlled drugs above a specified level in your blood. This includes illegal and legally prescribed drugs.
The limit set for each drug is different, and for illegal drugs the limits set are extremely low. They aren't zero to rule out any accidental exposure (eg from passive smoking).
The police can stop you at any time and ask you to take a breath test (‘breathalyse’ you) if:
they think you’ve been drinking
you’ve committed a traffic offence
you’ve been involved in a road traffic collision
If you refuse to take a breath test, or fail to supply a sample of breath and don't have a ‘reasonable excuse’, you can be arrested.
If you're found to be over the drink-drive limit, and/or driving while impaired by drugs, you can receive:
a criminal record
a maximum penalty of six months in prison
an unlimited fine
an automatic driving ban of at least one year (three years if you have been convicted twice in 10 years)
Cambridgeshire Constabulary operates a dedicated, confidential hotline – 0800 032 0845 – which is available 24/7 and allows the reporting of those believed to be driving under the influence.