BOOZE buses could soon be breathalising hundreds of East Lancashire motorists each day in a bid to catch drink drivers.

County council bosses and police are considering introducing a pilot scheme based on a project which has slashed the number of road casualties in the Australian state of Victoria.

Representatives plan to visit the state in spring to see the 13 booze buses which are on the streets each night. Each vehicle is able to breath test 1,300 drivers during an eight-hour shift.

Drivers slightly over the limit are able to sit on the bus for two hours until their alcohol level drops and others are arrested and prosecuted.

The buses, first introduced in 1983, became more effective after 1990 when they were made more conspicuous to serve as a visual deterrent to drink drivers.

In the run up to Christmas last year every motorist pulled over by Victoria police patrols was breath tested.

Some patrol cars in Victoria have radar units mounted on them, which can check an oncoming car's speed while the police car is moving.

Combined with 60 static speed cameras, the Australian scheme means motorists have their speed tested an average of once every three weeks.

Speed was a factor in 25 deaths on Lancashire's roads last year. The scheme halved road deaths over a five year period, and the number of drivers failing breath tests dropped from one in every 255 to just one in 700.

The Australians combine the measures with hard-hitting advertising campaigns, and use accident data to pinpoint trouble spots and peak times for drink driving. European funding may be sought if the scheme is introduced in Lancashire and a presentation on the initiative is to be made early next month to Home Secretary Jack Straw.

County Council senior principal engineer Peter Andrews said: "We are quite cautiously excited by the prospects of getting this initiative going in Lancashire."

Mr Andrews was speaking at Hyndburn environmental services committee to talk about a new casualty reduction group in East Lancashire.

Acting Chief Inspector Dave Mallaby of Lancashire police added: "We have entered into a ground-breaking partnership with Lancashire County Council and hope to continue this with the unitary authorities.

"We are impressed with the scheme's potential for dramatically reducing the number of crashes on Lancashire roads. Together we are exploring how it could be transferred and tailored to suit the county.

"The initiative is at a very early stage and nothing is likely to be implemented for at least a year."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.