Drink-driving in Northern Ireland: what the latest statistics show
PSNI carried out 30,363 preliminary breath tests in 2025 and 13.9% were positive or failed to provide. Here is what that figure means, how it compares with 2024, and the current Northern Ireland drink-drive limits and penalties.
Updated 21 September 2026. PSNI carried out 30,363 preliminary breath tests in Northern Ireland during 2025. Of those, 4,225 were recorded as positive or failed to provide, equivalent to 13.9% of all tests.
That proportion rose from 12.1% in 2024 even though the total number of preliminary breath tests fell by 4%, from 31,617 to 30,363.
Those numbers need careful interpretation. A roadside preliminary breath test is a screening tool; PSNI explicitly states that it is not the evidential test used to determine whether a driver is legally above the alcohol limit. Evidential breath, blood or urine procedures take place later where required.
Latest Northern Ireland preliminary breath-test figures
| Measure | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Total preliminary breath tests | 31,617 | 30,363 |
| Positive or failed to provide | 3,837 | 4,225 |
| Positive/failed-to-provide share | 12.1% | 13.9% |
PSNI's 2025 report records 24,176 zero readings, 1,725 passes, 237 warnings, 3,100 fails and 1,125 failures to provide.
When were positive or failed tests most common?
The 2025 statistics show clear timing patterns, but they should not be treated as a simple map of when all drink-driving occurs because police testing activity itself is targeted.
- June recorded the highest monthly proportion of positive or failed-to-provide tests at 17.7%, representing 339 tests.
- Sunday had the highest day-of-week proportion at 15.4%.
- 03:00 to 05:59 had the highest time-band proportion, at 27.8%.
- More than two-fifths of all PBTs in 2025 were conducted between 9pm and 2:59am.
Road traffic collisions accounted for 40.9% of the reasons recorded for preliminary breath tests in 2025. Campaign testing, including the Christmas operation, is included in PSNI's “other” category.
What do the wider drink/drug-driving offence statistics show?
PSNI's annual motoring report groups drink and drug-driving offences together. In 2025 it recorded 2,872 arrests for drink/drug-driving offences, resulting in 2,794 offences referred for prosecution.
Because that series combines alcohol and drugs, it should not be quoted as a drink-driving-only total. For alcohol specifically, preliminary breath-test statistics are the cleaner measure of roadside testing activity.
In the combined 2025 drink/drug category, one quarter of offences were detected on a Sunday. August recorded the largest monthly number, with 288 detections. Belfast City had the highest raw district count at 505, while Mid Ulster had the highest rate per 10,000 population aged 16 and over, at 24.
What happened during the 2025/26 Christmas campaign?
The PSNI campaign running from 1 December 2025 to 1 January 2026 produced an initial total of 5,198 preliminary breath tests. Of these, 375 — 7.2% — failed or failed to provide. Police recorded 288 arrests for combined drink/drug-driving related offences during the campaign.
The highest provisional evidential breath reading published for the campaign was 172 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath. Northern Ireland's legal breath limit is 35 microgrammes per 100ml, so that recorded reading was almost five times the legal limit.
The campaign figures were explicitly published as provisional and subject to change. They also combine drink and drug arrests, while the breath-test results relate to alcohol screening.
What is the drink-drive limit in Northern Ireland?
Nidirect states that the legal alcohol limits for drivers in Northern Ireland are:
- 35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath;
- 80 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood; and
- 107 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of urine.
There is no reliable “number of drinks” that guarantees a driver will remain below the limit. Alcohol concentration varies with the amount and speed of drinking, body size, food, hydration and other factors. Nidirect's advice is straightforward: do not drink and drive.
What are the penalties for drink-driving in Northern Ireland?
For driving or attempting to drive while over the legal limit or unfit through drink or drugs, nidirect lists:
- up to six months' imprisonment;
- a fine of up to £5,000;
- a driving ban of at least 12 months; or at least three years for a second relevant conviction within 10 years; and
- a driving test before the licence is returned.
Refusing to provide an evidential specimen can also lead to up to six months' imprisonment, a fine of up to £5,000 and a driving ban of at least 12 months.
Northern Ireland also operates a High Risk Offender scheme. Among the triggers listed by nidirect are an alcohol level more than two and a half times the legal limit, two relevant alcohol-related disqualifications within 10 years, or refusing/failing to provide an evidential specimen. A high-risk offender does not automatically regain a licence at the end of the ban and may have to satisfy medical requirements.
The morning-after problem
A night's sleep, breakfast, coffee or a cold shower does not remove alcohol from the body. Nidirect warns that a person may remain over the limit many hours after the last drink. Only time reduces the alcohol concentration.
That is why the safe planning decision has to include the following morning, not just the journey home from a night out.
Frequently asked questions
How many breath tests did PSNI carry out in 2025?
30,363 preliminary breath tests were recorded.
How many were positive?
PSNI groups positive tests and failures to provide together for its headline measure. There were 4,225 such results, 13.9% of all PBTs.
Is a failed roadside breath test the same as a conviction?
No. PSNI says a PBT is indicative only. Evidential procedures are required to establish the measured alcohol level for prosecution.
What is the Northern Ireland breath limit?
35 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath.
Can you be over the limit the morning after?
Yes. Alcohol can remain in the body for many hours after drinking has stopped.
Sources and methodology
The core statistics come from PSNI's Official Statistics publications for preliminary breath tests, the 2025 annual motoring report and the 2025/26 Christmas campaign bulletin. Legal limits and penalties come from nidirect. Combined drink/drug figures are clearly labelled and are not presented as alcohol-only totals.
