DEVON and Cornwall Police have launched a high-visibility crackdown on drink and drug driving on one of the region’s busiest commuter routes, targeting motorists using the Torpoint Ferry in the run-up to Christmas.

The co-ordinated operation – codenamed Operation Ferry – is part of Devon and Cornwall Police’s wider Operation Limit campaign to reduce alcohol and drug-related road deaths over the festive period.

Officers worked alongside the Driver Vehicle and Standards Agency and Tamar Crossings to carry out random roadside tests on both sides of the ferry, stopping vehicles as they came off the service into Plymouth and Torpoint.

The force said the initiative aimed not only to identify offenders, but also to hammer home a message many drivers still underestimate that alcohol and drugs can remain in the bloodstream long after the night before.

Sgt Owen Messenger, who oversaw the checks, said the operation was smooth and that no motorists were found over the limit – a relief, but not a reason for complacency.

He warned that around 17 per cent of fatal collisions investigated by the force each year involve alcohol.

Too many drivers, he said, wrongly assume they are safe to drive after a few hours’ sleep.

Sgt Messenger reinforced the standard guidance, saying: “If you think a pint of beer is three units and you have five pints in the evening, that’s 15 hours before you’re fit to drive again.

“Finish drinking at 11:30pm, add half an hour, and you shouldn’t be driving until midday the next day.”

The reminder comes amid stark figures released earlier this year that in 2024, Devon and Cornwall Police arrested 960 drivers over the alcohol limit and 257 found unfit through drugs.

Operation Limit, is part of the National Police Chiefs' Council's annual Christmas campaign and continues until early January, with police warning that further unannounced checks should be expected across the region.