Police Scotland tested 17,504 drivers for alcohol as part of their four-week drink-drive campaign over the festive period and caught 351 drivers under the influence, compared to 434 drivers last year – a 19% reduction.

The campaign follows the 5 December 2014 introduction of Scotland’s new lower drink drive limit of 22 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, or 50mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood, bringing the nation in line with much of the rest of Europe.

Figures from the Scottish Government also show that drivers are five times more likely to be caught just over the new legal limit the morning after.

The reduction in drink driving has been greeted by the IAM.

Neil Greig, director of policy and research, said: ‘The IAM welcomes the overall fall in drink-driving in Scotland which is not unexpected given all the publicity around the new law. The vast majority of drivers have got the “none for the road’ message, but what the figures do show is that a hard core continue to ignore any limit. They are the real danger on the road and must remain the top police priority. The lower limit was a welcome addition to reinforce the drink-drive message, but police must now redouble their efforts to identify and catch those selfish drivers who put everyone at risk through excessive drinking.’

The organisation added that IAM survey statistics report from October 2014 found over 47% of respondents support adopting Scottish drink-drive laws across England and Wales in order to reduce the number of accidents taking place on UK roads.