Anti-drink drive campaign launched

Today marks the launch of the annual winter anti-drink driving campaign by the police and the Department of the Environment, and the message again this year is 'Never, ever, drink and drive'.

Figures released to highlight the scale of the problem, indicate that from the beginning of January until the end of September this year 18 people have died in collisions where drink played a part. More than 550 people have been injured, some 122 seriously.

Accident and Emergency consultant Sean McGovern, who is based at the Ulster Hospital, Dundonald, and who over the past year has been a key player in the PSNI’s award-winning Roadsafe Roadshow which is aimed at teenagers, said: “Christmas and the New Year is a time for home and family. Sadly, for too many families it can become a time of tragedy. Year after year, I and my colleagues, medical, nursing and paramedics, spend the festive season dealing with the aftermath of road traffic collisions in which people are killed or injured. Drink is the cause of too many of these cases. Please, spend Christmas with your family – not with me.”

Assistant Chief Constable Duncan McCausland, the PSNI’s Head of Operations, said: “Police are determined to tackle the problem of drink-driving robustly. No matter what other pressures are placed on our resources – and there are many – catching drunk drivers and bringing them before the courts remains a priority. We want people to enjoy themselves. But, equally I don’t want police officers having to knock on someone’s door to tell them that a loved one has been injured or killed. The message is simple ‘Never, ever drink and drive.’

Environment Minister Angela Smith said: “Christmas and New Year is traditionally a time when many people like to enjoy a drink and I have no problem with that.

"Unfortunately, some are tempted to have a few drinks and then drive, often with disastrous consequences. During the last five years alcohol was the principal factor in more than a quarter of all road deaths.

"I find it staggering therefore to think how someone could even contemplate getting behind the wheel after having consumed alcohol. My message is straightforward, never, ever drink and drive.”

(GMcG)