POLICE chiefs have called for new powers allowing them to charge drink-drivers by the roadside. Ken Williams, chief constable of Norfolk Constabulary, said it would speed up the process for dealing with those who drive while over the limit.

In England and Wales, police conducted nearly 900,000 roadside breath tests, with 12% testing positive or refusing to take a test, which can lead to an automatic driving ban. Currently, when a driver is tested by the roadside, a second, more accurate test, is needed at the police station to provide evidence for a court case.

New roadside test equipment is now being developed that would provide a reading accurate enough to be used in court, the annual Association of Chief Police Officers summer conference also called for a simplification of the law, allowing for police to stop and test any driver, rather than having to wait for them to commit an offence.