The police have recently announced that in order to tackle the problem of people driving the morning after a drinking session, they are going to be conducting drink drive tests in the mornings, as well as during the night-time.
The campaign is being run for a month and it is going to also be targeting those people who are taking drugs before they drive their vehicles. The campaign is being organised by the Association of Chief Police Officers, also known as ACPO. ACPO stated that drink drive tests are now going to be done all throughout the day, including first thing in the morning.
Last year saw a similar campaign and this was conducted in June and saw nearly 90,000 people pulled over and breathalysed during the month. Of those pulled over over six percent of them proved positive for alcohol, or refuse to take a test – suggesting that they had been drinking.
The head of drinking and driving at ACPO is Deputy Chief Constable Suzette Davenport. She has recently commented, “250 people died in 2010 because of drink-driving accidents in the UK. On top of this, nearly 10,000 people were injured due to someone who was driving when they were over the legal limit for alcohol. This delivers a clear message: there is no place alcohol on our roads and just because it is a short drive, doesn’t make it acceptable.
“When you drink and then drive, you are not just putting your own safety risk, but also the safety of other road users and pedestrians. The message that we want to deliver to those who are considering drinking and driving this summer is that you must not. This is a simple decision to make and it can potentially save lives and prevent untold devastation. That said, if you do choose to drink and drive, we are going to do our best to find you and prosecute you.”
Mike Penning, the Road safety Minister has said, “Drinking alcohol and driving, or being under the influence of drugs while driving are incredibly serious offences. There should be no doubt in the drivers mind that if they are under the influence when driving a vehicle they can face the loss of their licence, heavy fines, or even the possibility of a prison sentence.
Some of the safest roads in the world are in the UK, but the number of people being injured, or dying on them, because of drink-driving offences is still way too high. I am personally determined to make sure that the amount of drug and drink-driving in this country diminishes.”
The president of the AA, Edmund King, has stated, “We are very pleased with this measure taken by the police. Not only is it going to mean that people are taken off the road if they are drink-driving, but it is going to be a strong discouragement for people to consider driving in the morning after a night’s drinking. Furthermore, we are pleased to see that the police are going to be breathalysing all people have been involved in a road accident.”
