DORSET'S road policing chief says he is supportive of government plans to introduce random breath testing.

Chief Inspector Rick Dowell said proposed changes to allow breath tests to be carried out at any time might act as a deterrent and stop people getting behind the wheel after they have been drinking.

Police can currently carry out a breath test only if a motorist has been driving erratically, been involved in an accident or committed another offence while driving, such as having a faulty light or speeding.

The proposed changes would allow them to be carried out at any time, with roadside checkpoints being set up at points where police were confident they could catch lawbreakers.

Chief Insp Dowell said: "In terms of introducing more powers to conduct more breath testing, we are supportive of it because it means that we don't have to justify our actions, as we do at the moment.

"It also means that perhaps drivers will appreciate there is a greater chance of them being tested and therefore that might act as a deterrent for people who still haven't got the message drink driving is dangerous and will not be tolerated."

Ministers have previously rejected random breath testing but it is understood that there was a change of heart when the results of the latest Christmas campaign against drink driving were revealed.

These showed that while the number of tests carried out in England and Wales rose by six per cent, the number of drivers who failed fell to 7,800 - down from 9,700 in 2006.

But in Dorset the drink drive message appears to be finally sinking in, with fewer arrests in the Christmas crackdown.

Between December 1, 2007 and January 1, 2008, 1,940 breath tests were carried out - a 70 per cent increase on the same period the previous year - but arrests fell from 198 to 173, proving drivers are becoming more responsible. Of those arrested, nearly one third were under the age of 25, five had been involved in injury collisions and 19 in damage-only collisions.