Figures show the number of people who failed a breath test in Greater Manchester last Christmas
Jason Rushworth Senior Digital Journalist
19:34, 19 Dec 2025
12 drivers were found to be four times the drink drive limit(Image: PA)
A dozen motorists were found to be four times the drink drive limit when they were stopped on the streets of Greater Manchester over Christmas last year.
As the party season of 2025 hits its heights, figures released by Greater Manchester Police show that many revellers still can’t resist the temptation to get behind the wheel after a night out.
And many of them are caught when they set out to drive the morning after a Christmas party, with figures showing that around 10 per cent of those failing a breathalyser were tested during the morning between 6 am and midday.
We asked GMP for details of the number of motorists who were arrested for driving under the influence of drink or drugs between December 1 2024 and January 5, 2025.
More than 700 drivers were arrested when they were stopped over the festive period last winter. Incredibly, twelve of them had a reading of over 140mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – which put them more than four times the drink drive limit.
The average person would need to down the equivalent of a whole bottle of wine or 8 pints of beer to be four times the drink drive limit.
Another 35 motorists were three times the drink limit while 99 were double the limit of 35mg of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
Around 700 people were arrested for drink or drug driving last Christmas, and just under 500 of them were subsequently charged.
Analysis of the arrest times shows that the hours between 10pm and 1am saw the most arrests, however there were also spikes at 6pm and at 2pm.
Arrests by Greater Manchester Police in December 2024
Roughly half of those arrested were detained on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.