14-year-old arrested for drink driving in Northern Ireland

A 14-year-old was caught drink-driving in Northern Ireland over the winter months.

They were arrested by police after being found to have consumed alcohol and to be driving underage. You must be at least 16 years of age to obtain a driving licence in the North. "At 14 years of age, the youngest person detected shouldn’t have been on the road - let alone failing a breath test," Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd told Belfast Live. "This individual is being dealt with for a number of motoring offences including Taking and Driving Away." The teen was one of 322 drink drivers apprehended by the PSNI over the Christmas period. Another driver was found to be four times over the legal limit when breathalysed. The oldest driver who was arrested was 83 years old. Women accounted for just 72 of the 322 arrests. Over 11,000 drivers were tested for alcohol consumption in Northern Ireland between 1 November 2018 and 1 January 2019. The legal limit for alcohol while driving in the North is 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. This compares to 50 milligrammes of alcohol per 100ml of blood in the Republic. Those who were arrested for drink-driving "completely disregarded the safety of themselves and others by taking the shameful and incredibly dangerous risk of driving after drinking," Constable Todd said.