Police in Avon and Somerset have arrested 95 people for drink driving offences three weeks into a campaign to save lives on the roads.

Operation Tonic was launched on June 1, and has seen officers carry out high-visibility stop-checks to raise awareness of the dangers of drink-driving and target repeat offenders.

In the last three weeks, over 23,600 motorists have been stopped, 1,513 have been breathalysed and 95 people have been arrested.

Chief Inspector Polly King said: “The drivers we have spoken to have given us really positive feedback and have been reassured to see that we take a zero tolerance policy when it comes to drink driving.

“Everyone is making the most of the warmer weather we have been enjoying recently – having fun at family barbeques, relaxing in beer gardens or supporting the World Cup. But I would ask that everyone remembers it is impossible to calculate your drink drive limit and even a small amount of alcohol can affect your ability to drive.

“We will not tolerate drink or drug driving in Avon and Somerset and will be cracking down on those that do so. Our message is clear – if you do drink or drug-drive this summer, you can expect to be caught.”

In Avon and Somerset, seven people were killed and 35 seriously injured in drink-drive related collisions in 2009.

The consequences of being caught drink driving are extensive – including a minimum 12-month driving ban, a criminal record, up to six months in prison and a fine of up to £5,000. Those convicted of drink-driving for a second time are also likely to have their car seized and potentially crushed.

There are not many households that do not have a games console of some sort, be it an X-Box, PlayStation or Nintendo and many of you will have played some form of driving game.

But are we able to see the distinction between the racetrack on screen and the roads in real life.

Research has shown that those that play racing games can often act in a similar way on screen to that on the roads. Driving actions in these video games often include reckless driving, speeding, crashing into other vehicles and carrying out risky stunts.

It has been found that there is a link between this behaviour and the driving risks we take in real life. Young drivers are thought to be especially prone to this behaviour.

Natasha Simper of Britannia Driving School said: “It is worrying that drivers cannot differentiate between games and real life but then who is to say that these risk takers would act any differently if they didn’t play the games.”

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Police are introducing a new camera system to help catch careless drivers.

The approach they intend to use has caused much debate and for many they feel it is an invasion of privacy.

The new spy cameras are to be on a mast positioned on top of police vehicles. The cameras will be able to zoom in for some distance and catch drivers who are using mobile phones, not wearing a seatbelt, eating or applying make-up.

The police suggest that introducing the cameras will help reduce road deaths but motorists see it as another way for the Government to cash in.

Drivers caught on camera talking on their phone will automatically be fined £60 and will be given three points on their licence. Anyone caught not wearing a seatbelt, eating or driving unduly will be fined £30.

One worry is that the cameras will reduce police presence on the roads and that their time will be spent surveying the footage rather than combating crime directly.

Some have suggested that the cameras be implemented to catch crimes that really affect society such as burglaries and anti-social behaviour. However, they realise that this is not likely as there is no money to be made doing this.

Natasha Simper of Britannia Driving School said: “Are the spy cameras there to stop motorists acting carelessly on the road or are they just a money making machine ready to spy on the public. My advice is to resist picking your nose!”

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THE legal alcohol limit for drivers could be reduced by more than a third if the Government agrees with the recommendations of a new report.

Reducing it from 80mg per 100ml of blood to 50mg would save hundreds of lives per year, a Whitehall-commissioned report by leading academic and legal expert Sir Peter North said.

He also recommended the one-year driving ban – automatic for those who exceed the current limit – should be maintained for the new 50mg limit.

Sir Peter, who was asked to review drink and drug-driving laws, also called for police to be given greater powers to check for drink-drivers.

Making 51 recommendations in all, he said police procedures enforcing current drug-driving laws should be improved, making it more straightforward for police to identify and prosecute drug-drivers by allowing nurses, as well as doctors, to authorise blood tests of suspects.

Medium-term, he recommended early approval of saliva testing of drug-driving suspects in police stations.

A porsche driver has been fined after he was caught with four dining chairs balanced on the passenger seat of his open-topped car.

Daniel Hill was stopped by officers who saw the stack of unsecured chairs towering over him. Hill, 26, of Exeter, denied driving without full vision of the road but was fined £60 with £215 costs by the city’s magistrates.

He said: “I had tunnels of vision through the chairs.”

Queen Elizabeth aged 84 was caught on camera leaving a polo match in her Jaguar not wearing a seatbelt.

She was on private land at the time therefore would not be found guilty of anything. However, she would not have been fined even if she had been on a public road or committing any driving offence of that matter as the law stipulates that a reigning monarch cannot be found guilty of it.

Anyone else committing this offense could be fined up to £500 and would have been given a fixed penalty of £60 if paid on the spot.

The Queen is the only person in Britain who by law does not need a licence but then why would she as the roads are essentially hers. Nor is she required to have registration plates on her vehicle.

Does the queen have a licence – it seems as though Queen Elizabeth learnt to drive in 1945 when she was an 18 year old princess and a member of the Auxiliary Territorial Service.

Natasha Simper of Britannia Driving School said: Do I think its right that the Queen is the only person in Britain permitted to drive without a licence, possible not, but then I wouldn’t want to be the examiner that had to give the Queen bad news and tell her that she had failed her driving test.

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A lot of us will go the extra mile to ensure that our vehicle is safe, such as a steering lock or wheel clamp which is a good idea. However, there are some simple tips that we can all follow to minimise the risk of our car getting broken into.

Do not keep any valuables on display such as money, mobile phones, sat navs, stereos etc.

Make sure that if you have a mobile or sat nav holder you remove this from the window screen, this is informing a thief that you own such technology.

However, if you forget to remove electrical items and they do get stolen make sure you have written down the make, model and serial number of the items. It will make the items more easily identifiable and harder for a thief to sell on.

Park your car in a garage or on a driveway, this makes it a lot more secure than leaving it on a public road. If you do have to park your car away from home, try to park it in an area with CCTV coverage.

It may sound obvious but make sure that your car is always locked and your windows are shut, even if you will only be away from the car for a few seconds a lot of thieves are opportunists.

Finally make sure you keep your keys safe. It is not only pick pockets that you need to be aware of, but those that can take keys from your property. Do not leave your car keys by the front door as this allows easy access.

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A police officer was jailed yesterday for faking papers to dodge a motoring fine.

PC Dean Hardy, 35, feared becoming a laughing stock after being pulled over while driving without an MOT.

He later filled in a form to make it appear the MOT was valid and had it signed at Deeside station, Clwyd.

Jailing him for four months at Newport crown court, Judge Paul Thomas QC said: “If police officers don’t respect the law, how can the general public. People like you simply have to be made an example of.”

“Underage drinking is our nation’s No. 1 youth drug problem, killing 6.5 times more youth than all illicit drugs combined,” reads a National Academy of Sciences report from 2003. The report was apparently praised by members of Congress and advocacy groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for bringing underage drinking and driving to the forefront of the federal public health agenda. Yet seven years later, after all the fireworks of public outcry and agitation, the smoke has cleared and there are more teenagers drinking and driving than ever before.

The whole debate about driving under the influence (DUI) — whether penalties are too harsh, drunken driving is morally wrong — stirred my memory recently when I watched a DUI trial in Gunn High School’s Little Theater. The Santa Clara County Superior Court and Gunn law teacher Patricia Bruegger had arranged for the case, People v. Alexandra Taylor, to be held on campus for an educational experience for about 100 Gunn students, interested community members and the press.

There were all of the formalities of a typical courthouse trial, from a judge to a bailiff to evidence exhibits, but there was something very different about this trial: concerned students were actively involved and even engrossed, taking notes and listening closely to every argument, testimony and judicial instruction. There was even a mock jury of 12 students who rendered a “guilty” verdict after Judge Peter

At present the practical driving test allows learners to be guided along the test routes and given instructions throughout the test. However, from early October this is set to change.

The DSA (Driving Standards Agency) are looking to close the gap between those at driving test standard and those at post test standard and believe that introducing independent driving will help do this.

The test will include a 10 minute period where by the pupil must drive unassisted and will be asked to drive to a destination following traffic signs or drive following a series of verbal directions – prompt cards will be available.

Independent test routes are currently being designed and diagrams being produced.

But don’t panic, this does not mean you have to have the memory of an Elephant, if you get lost or take a wrong turning, you will not fail for this and the examiner will put you in the right direction.

It was initially feared that this new approach would mean a significant number of people failing the test but research has shown this not to be the case. It is hoped that those that do pass the test will have a bit of real life experience on the roads and be able to attack the roads on their own once they pass.

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