11 hours ago
More than 5,000 people caught drink driving in Queensland so far this year
Queensland police are catching an average of more than 40 people a day drink driving, as the state continues to ramp up its random breath testing regime following a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chief Superintendent Garrath Channells from the road policing command said there had been 5,233 drink driving offences to the beginning of April this year.
"About 40 Queenslanders have been detected for various drink driving matters everyday on our roads," he told ABC Radio Brisbane.
"They place themselves in a situation and more importantly, they are putting others on the road at risk."
Police have undertaken more than 740,000 breath tests across the state since January 1, and are on track to conduct more than 2 million tests in a year for the first time since the pandemic.
Despite increased testing every year since 2020, the amount of people being caught drink driving has been in decline.
In 2022, just over 17,059 drink drivers were detected by police.
In 2023, that number was 15,860, and in 2024 it was 15,364.
Drivers with a blood alcohol level between 0.05 and 0.10 were the most commonly detected each of those years.
Detective Superintendent Channells said people "intending to have a few" should always organise a way home that doesn't involve driving.
"Either have a designated driver who is safe to get you and your friends home or have an alternate plan," he said.
