The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has responded to the publication of statistics highlighting a recent road safety campaign that had some sobering results relating to young motorists up and down the country.

Following a clampdown on alcohol testing for drivers over the festive period, figures from the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) revealed that despite an overall reduction in the number of people given roadside breathalyser tests in December, the proportion of motorists aged 25 and under that tested positive for being over the limit actually increased in 2014.

In total, more than six per cent of drivers in this age range failed a roadside test.

Responding to the data, RoSPA head of road safety Kevin Clinton commented: "What is … worrying is the number of young people who are driving while under the influence of alcohol.

"Around 250 people are killed in drink-drive accidents every year and it is not just the drivers who suffer, but often their passengers, people in other vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists or motorcyclists, and the families of everyone involved."

Mr Clinton concluded that the more intelligence-led approach to drink-driving testing carried out by the ACPO showed positive results in helping to take potentially dangerous motorists off the roads.

However, he added that officers now need to ensure they are maintaining the number of tests in line with recent years, as this has the potential to deliver even greater safety results in the years ahead.

The latest ACPO figures related to the England and Wales, but an interesting development was that a similar drink-driving clampdown in Scotland – also carried out over the festive and following the recent reduction in the drink-drive limit there – showed a 19 per cent annual fall in arrests.