3,759 drink-drivers were arrested by the Metropolitan Police in the last year alone, with Waltham Forest ranking in the bottom ten boroughs for arrests
The Metropolitan Police arrested 80 drink-drivers in Waltham Forest last year, it has been revealed.
The figure comes amid a total of 3,759 arrests made by the police, according to data obtained by law firm Legal Expert via freedom of information requests.
Between December 2021 and November 2024, police in the capital made 12,688 drink-driving arrests. Of those, 69% on average resulted in a charge or summons.
Legal Expert’s road traffic accident specialist, Tracy Chick says: “Drink-driving is such an avoidable offence and there is no excuse for drinking and getting behind the wheel.”
The Met Police also revealed the most prolific areas for drink-driving across the capital in the last year.
Hillingdon came out on top with a total of 193 arrests made in 2023/24.
It is followed by Lambeth where 186 drink-drivers were arrested. A further 181 arrests were made in Croydon as well as 169 in Brent and 168 in Lewisham.
The most common age group for those caught drink-driving in London in the last year was between 30-39, accounting for 34% of the figures, followed by 40-49 year-olds which made up 22%. 85% of drink-drivers in London last year were male.
The findings follow the latest data released by the Department for Transport in 2024 revealing that UK drink-driving deaths have hit a 13-year-high.
In January, the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners’ (APCC) Addictions and Substance Misuse leads and their Roads Policing counterparts jointly backed the British Medical Association’s (BMA) call for a reduction in the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers.
The APCC said: “Too many families have been devastated by the consequences of drink driving, with around 300 people dying each year in collisions where a driver is over the limit.
“Even minimal alcohol consumption can significantly impair a driver’s judgment and their ability to react quickly. If we are to save lives and make our roads safer for everyone, we must get across the message that any amount of alcohol before driving is dangerous.”
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