One in four of the 39 motorists tested for alcohol levels at two police roadblocks between 11.30pm last Friday and 4.45am the following day failed the test.

The legal limit is 35ug (microgrammes) of alcohol per 100ml of breath, and the two roadblocks were set up along Outram and Tampines roads. The roadblocks came after about 60 people were charged with drink driving last week alone.

A Straits Times team observed the two late-night police roadblocks on Friday and Saturday and also conducted breathalyser tests on 35 motorists at Zouk, Clarke Quay and St James Power Station between midnight and 4 am on Saturday. It reported that many who refused staggered into their cars and drove off.

Five failed the test.

In the first quarter of this year, 914 motorists were held for drink driving. Of this, 141 were involved in accidents. This is an increase from last year, where the figures were 753 and 134 respectively.

The death toll from crashes involving drunk drivers was 25 in 2006, up from 20 in 2005. The number of people injured also rose by 50 per cent in the same period, to 336 last year, prompting calls from some people to stiffen the jail sentence and fines for first-time drink drivers who currently can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for six months and banned from driving for at least a year.

<i>For the full story, read The Straits Times today.</i>