Drivers leaving Liverpool Airport now face instant roadside alcohol testing
Merseyside Police has become the first force in the UK to use evidential alcohol testing at the roadside, deploying it on a route out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
The new technology allows officers to charge suspected drink drivers at the roadside, rather than waiting for a blood alcohol level to drop during the journey to custody.
It has been introduced as part of Operation Take Off, a campaign targeting drink driving among people returning from flights.
The operation follows the deaths of eight month old Zackary Blades and his aunt Karlene Warner, who were killed in May 2024 by a driver leaving Newcastle Airport who was nearly three times over the legal alcohol limit.
Officers carried out the first night of the operation on a popular route out of Liverpool John Lennon Airport, targeting drivers who may have been drinking before boarding or during their flight home.
Merseyside Roads Policing Inspector Gavin Dixon said the change removes a longstanding problem for officers.
“If someone blows over the limit in a roadside breath test, we have traditionally needed to take them into custody and obtain an evidential sample before any charge can be brought. During that time, their body continues to process the alcohol,” he said.
“That means we can sometimes find ourselves in the frustrating position where a driver who was clearly over the limit at the roadside is no longer providing a sample high enough to meet the evidential threshold by the time they reach custody. Evidential roadside testing removes that risk entirely.”
Dixon said Merseyside Police has a history of adopting new technology early and is proud to be the first force to deploy this system operationally.
He said the tragic circumstances surrounding the deaths of Zackary and Karlene showed why the proactive approach was needed.
“If someone has been drinking before boarding their flight home, or while travelling, and believes that somehow they can get behind the wheel without consequence, they should think again. We now have the ability to remove them from the road immediately and begin the process of bringing them to justice,” he said.
Merseyside Police is also trialling a separate nitrous oxide detection device, to establish whether breath sampling could improve detection rates for drivers suspected of using the substance.
The force said its ongoing anti drink and drug driving football campaign has led to 266 arrests since the start of the World Cup, for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
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