Fewer motorists have been caught drinking and driving during the first half of a special crackdown than during the same period last year.

The annual summer drink-drive crackdown got under way at the beginning of the month.

Essex Police have released the first results of the campaign and they show a drop in the percentage of motorists who failed breath tests.

In the first two weeks, 1,299 tests were carried out on Essex drivers. Of those tested, 52 motorists tested positive or about 4 per cent.

That compares with tests last year which found 49 people out of 730 tested had been drinking, or about 6.7 per cent.

Published Tuesday August 20, 2002

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