A motoring organisation today called for the cars of repeat drink-drivers to be confiscated.
A motoring organisation today called for the cars of repeat drink-drivers to be confiscated.
The proposal from the Automobile Association (AA) came after a drop in the number of motorists caught drink-driving in Scotland during the recent festive period.
A total of 654 people across the country's eight police force areas were caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the four-week campaign, down on 839 the previous year.
The AA welcomed the drop but said it was important to keep up the momentum of the campaign and stop habitual offenders.
AA president Edmund King said: "The so-called hard-core drink drivers - those who don't care about the limit - think they won't get caught and continue to drink and drive. They still present a major threat to be countered.
"Ninety per cent of AA members think that repeat drink-drivers should have their vehicle seized by the police.
"Some of these drivers have a drink problem rather than a driving problem.
"They need to prove that they are no longer dependent on alcohol before being given back their keys."
Nine out of ten AA members backed the idea, according to an AA/Populus survey of 11,388.
The AA proposed it should be up to the court to decide whether to return or dispose of the vehicles of repeat offenders.
They also suggested a roadside drug test to target those suspected of taking drugs and driving.
The four-week festive drink- and drugs-driving road safety campaign was co-ordinated by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.
Among those snared were a school teacher who was found to be nearly twice the drink-drive limit after being stopped by police as she travelled to work in Lanarkshire.
Northern Constabulary said a 46-year-old man was found to be more than five times the limit, while in Tayside a 16-year-old boy who was stopped on his motorbike on New Year's Day was twice the legal limit.
Senior officers said they were enthused that nearly 200 fewer motorists had been arrested for alcohol- or drug-related offences than during the 2007/08 road safety campaign.
