A mother whose son was killed by a drink-driver is calling for more traffic police after it was revealed drunken young motorists believe there is no chance they’ll get caught.

Carole Whittingham, who started campaigning 15 years ago after her 27-year-old son Steven was killed by a drink-driver, said young people still think they can drink and drive, despite numerous police crackdowns.

Today, she urged police chiefs to employ more officers on the roads.

Mrs Whittingham, who set up Brighouse-based Support and Care After Road Death and Injury (SCARD), said: “The big problem is that the majority of people think that dangerous crimes are on the streets of cities and towns, so ACPO (the Association of Chief Police Officers) has told the different police authorities to take their officers off the roads and put them on the beat in town centres.

“Consequently, there are fewer traffic officers and it is about time that the police pulled their fingers out and started employing more officers on the roads.”

She spoke out after the Yorkshire-based Brake road safety charity revealed the “worrying” number of young drivers who believe they can drink before getting behind the wheel.

A survey of more than 4,000 motorists, showed one in 12 young drivers aged between 17 and 25 thought they would not get caught, compared with one in 25 older drivers.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “During our Christmas campaign to crack down on drink and drug drivers we stopped more than 1,400 people during operations across West Yorkshire. That is in addition to the on-going breathalyser tests we carry out during the year.

“This force has a dedicated team of approximately 300 roads policing officers which is about five per cent of total patrol officer strength.”

e-mail: marc.meneaud@telegraphandargus.co.uk