New study reveals the most dangerous areas in England and Wales for drink driving

• Cambridgeshire named as the most dangerous area in England and Wales for drink driving 
• Devon and Cornwall rank as the safest area  
• Over 252,000 alcohol breath tests issued in England and Wales in the latest report 

The most dangerous regions in England and Wales for drink drivers have been revealed in a new study. 

The team at International Driving Association have compared the latest GOV UK data, looking at the number of breath alcohol tests in each region (by police force), as well as the percentage of those which were positive. A total of 252,069 alcohol breath tests were recorded in England and Wales in the latest report.  

The data was then organised from highest to lowest to reveal which regions had the highest percentage of positive tests.  

Let’s take a look at the results: 

Police Force	Region	Percentage of positive breath tests (including refused)	Number of breath tests	Number of positive breath tests (including refused)
Cambridgeshire	Eastern	33.5	7,437	2,488
Gloucestershire	South West	26.8	7,238	1,943
Leicestershire	East Midlands	24.5	3,906	958
Suffolk	Eastern	24.4	3,045	743
West Midlands	West Midlands	24	7,568	1,813
Avon and Somerset	South West	23.7	7,830	1,855
West Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	23.7	7,072	1,676
South Yorkshire	Yorkshire and the Humber	23.6	4,200	990
Wiltshire	South West	23.3	2,044	476
Greater Manchester	North West	20.9	10,278	2,148

Cambridgeshire is the area with the highest percentage of positive alcohol breath tests, with 33.5% of tests in the last year being positive. Out of 7,437 alcohol breath tests that were carried out, 2,488 of them had a positive result.  

Gloucestershire also scored highly, with 1,943 of their 7,238 alcohol breath tests being positive, or 26.8 per cent. 

Leicestershire had 24.5 per cent of their alcohol breath tests being positive, whilst Suffolk had 24.4 per cent.  

Also, on the list with the highest percentage are West and South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.  

The study by International Driving Association also compared the areas in England and Wales with the lowest percentage of positive alcohol breath tests: 

Police Force	Region	Percentage of positive breath tests (including refused)	Number of breath tests	Number of positive breath tests (including refused)
Devon and Cornwall	South West	11.3	10687	1205
Lincolnshire	East Midlands	11.4	4693	536
Hampshire	South East	11.7	9320	1090
North Wales	Wales	11.9	8698	1033
Surrey	South East	12.1	5136	622
Essex	Eastern	12.3	7850	963
Cumbria	North West	12.5	3720	464
Sussex	South East	13.3	6465	862
Cleveland	North East	13.3	2961	394
Cheshire	North West	13.5	7012	945

Devon and Cornwall scored lowest with only 11.3 per cent of alcohol breath tests being positive, or 1,205 out of a total of 10,687.  

Lincolnshire took second place as the safest region , with 11.4 per cent, whilst Hampshire had 11.7 per cent.  

Also, on the list includes North Wales, Essex and Cheshire.  

A spokesperson from International Driving Association said: “Drink driving should never be encouraged, and our research shows the areas in England and Wales which are the worst offenders when it comes to breathalyser tests.  

“The legal alcohol limit in England and Wales for driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. However, there is no way to know how much you can drink and stay under the limit since it can depend on your weight, age, metabolism, the amount of food you’ve eaten and other factors. 

“If you’re driving, it should be recommended that you don’t drink any alcohol at all, as alcohol can seriously alter your ability to judge speed or distance, and slow your reaction, meaning you are more likely to be involved in a collision.”  

Survey carried out by https://internationaldriversassociation.com/