Officers with Cumbria Police's Roads Policing Unit have arrested more than 270 drivers on suspicion of drink or drug driving over the first 12-months since the RPU's launch in October 2023.
As well as 273 drink and drug driver arrests - from 378 total RPU arrests - the officers have issued more than 1,000 Traffic Offence Reports (TORs), investigated 449 road traffic collisions and attended more than 3,000 Grade One (immediate urgency) emergency incidents.
Inspector Jack Stabler, who leads Cumbria Police’s Roads Policing Unit, said: "When we launched the RPU 12 months ago the vision was for our officers to take the lead on making our county's roads safer through targeted enforcement.
"I'm pleased to be able to report this is taking place and drivers who put their own lives and the lives of all other road users at risk are being stopped and, often, taken off the road.
"The RPU is committed to continuing to work with our partners on the county's Road Safety Partnership to make Cumbria's roads even safer as we seek to drive down the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads."
Currently, RPU officers are engaged in Operation Dark Night – a National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) operation focusing on the safety of pedestrians and horse riders as nights get darker.
Officers will be engaging with pedestrians and horse riders about increasing their own safety and visibility whilst reminding drivers to take particular care at this time of year.
Insp Stabler said: "As we prepare to turn the clocks back, I urge all road users to be particularly careful.
"The darker nights can come on quickly and not everyone is as well prepared for the change as they could be.
"I ask that drivers pay particular attention whilst other road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, take a moment to consider their own visibility whilst out and about. Some reflective material about your clothing at night can make all the difference."
Included in the RPU's 1,063 Traffic Offence Reports are 228 speeding offences, 190 mobile phone / distracted driving offences and 111 offences for no insurance.
Officers have also conducted 330 stop and searches of people and vehicles.
Cumbria’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, David Allen, said: “Keeping Cumbria’s roads safe is a priority. The Roads Policing Unit have done a brilliant job at reducing road incidents over the last year and arresting those who are breaking the law.
“I went out with the Unit as part of Operation Dark Night on Friday 25 October to raise awareness around road safety with the aim to prevent collisions as the darker nights approach – everyone we spoke to, took the advice on board so I hope to see a further reduction in accidents.
“Road Safety is everyone’s responsibility. Driving dangerously not only places the life of the driver at risk but the lives of innocent passengers and other road users – drive within the laws and to the conditions of our roads.
“If you do break the law behind the wheel – you will be caught and you will face the consequences of your actions.”
The work of Cumbria’s RPU was recognised nationally earlier this month when Inspector Stabler was the recipient of the Innovation and Excellence award at the UK Road Offender Education (UKROEd) Awards.
Cumbria’s use of innovative and advanced technologies was evidenced at the 2024 Appleby Horse Fair where AI cameras were deployed on road harm hotspots.
These cameras were deployed on the A66 and M6 where they detected more than 600 offences of mobile phone use whilst driving and more than 750 seatbelt offences.
During Appleby Horse Fair, the RPU were responsible for 40 arrests, 24 vehicle seizures and 203 traffic offence reports, contributing to zero fatal or serious injury collisions during the 2024 Fair.
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UPDATE
Friday (25 Oct) was the first day of Operation Dark Night and saw six arrests - two for over the limit, for for being unfit to drive through drink or drugs, two for possession of a controlled substance (one of whom also had a knife in their vehicle) and one for being drunk an disorderly.
Officers also carried out 15 stop and searches, stopped more than 30 vehicles and issues 10 Traffic Offence Reports.
Partners were also busy with Cumbria Fire and Rescue engaging with the public including through the use of VR headsets, whilst the DVSA inspected numerous vehicles for defects.
Police mounted volunteers were also out over the weekend promoting safer road use.