Devon & Cornwall Police News site

Police in South Devon have thanked the sensible drivers who stayed sober behind the wheel over the festive period.

During an evening operation in Totnes, Kingsbridge, Newton Abbot and Torquay on Friday 19 December a total of 87 vehicles were stopped and 24 roadside breath tests were carried out – all of them proved to be negative. The planned checks were part of Operation Limit, which is Devon & Cornwall Police’s seasonal drink and drug drive campaign and a national police initiative. 

One vehicle was seized due to having no road tax and four drivers were arrested for drug driving - of those four, two of them were also found to be in possession of an offensive weapon and a third driver was wanted by police in another part of the country.

Inspector Wes Watkins wants to remind motorists that if in doubt they should arrange a taxi or use trains and buses instead of driving. He said: “Patrol and roads policing officers worked with the local Neighbourhood Police Teams, Special Constabulary and Operations department to speak to a large number of drivers on 19 December. We are pleased that no drivers were found to be over the legal alcohol limit and would like to thank the vast majority of motorists for their co-operation.

“However we would like to remind drivers that we can also test for drug driving and this is still a problem for some. It is not safe to be impaired by alcoholic drink or drugs behind the wheel and it’s not worth the risk of injuring yourself and others, as well as perhaps losing your job and your livelihood.   

“This operation was definitely worthwhile and we have also received positive feedback from our partners at the local council.”   

Devon & Cornwall Police is part of the road safety partnership, Vision Zero South West, which aims to cut the number of serious injury and fatal road traffic collisions on our roads. Bad decisions such as driving under the influence of drunk or drugs is one of the Fatal Five causes and the other reasons include not wearing a seatbelt or using a mobile phone behind the wheel can lead to awful consequences for motorists and their passengers or other road users.       

During the operation, on the last Friday before Christmas, officers also issued two Defect Rectification Scheme notices to drivers which means they must fix problems with their vehicles. 

Devon & Cornwall Police also supports the popular drink drive initiative ‘Lift Legend’ – which rewards designated drivers with free soft drinks as a thanks for getting their friends, colleagues and family members home safely. The Lift Legend scheme, in certain participating venues across the two counties, runs throughout December.

And party goers wanting to enjoy a few drinks and leave the car at home can make use of the night bus services to enjoy safe travel. The bus has been running during summer and autumn 2025 and has been available on Saturday nights and the early hours of Sunday morning in various locations – it also runs on New Year’s Eve.

From 10 January 2026 the night bus service will start again for the new year.

In Devon the service is operated by Stagecoach and runs between:

• Plymouth to Tavistock, via Plympton
• Plymouth to Saltash, via Milehouse
• Exeter to Cullompton, via Broadclyst
• Exeter to Dawlish, via Exminster
• Exeter to Crediton, via Newton St Cyres
• Exeter to Exmouth, via Topsham
• Torquay to Brixham, via Paignton
• St Marychurch to Paignton, via Torquay
• Barnstaple to Bideford, via Fremington
• Barnstaple to Ilfracombe, via Braunton

Please check details before you travel Welcome to Stagecoach

For more information about road safety please visit Vision Zero | A collaborative road safety community project