Police Call on Public to Prevent, Persuade and Report Drink Drivers this Christmas

Would you report a drink driver this Christmas?

That’s the question being posed by Chief Constable Jo Shiner, the country’s most senior police officer for road safety, as part of a national crackdown on drink driving.

Hertfordshire Constabulary is supporting a new major campaign which urges the public to ‘help prevent, persuade and call the police’ on drink drivers this winter.

Officers will be stepping up patrols to crack down on those who drink and drive over the festive period.

Latest survey figures show:

• 81% of Brits say drink drivers should be reported to the police… but less than half would actually do it in practice
• 36% of men and 46% of women say they’d take a drink driver’s car keys off them
• Only 2% say they wouldn’t try to stop a friend from drink driving

The new national campaign, called ‘Drink Driving – Together We Can Stop It’, appeals to the public’s sense of shared responsibility to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads.

It runs alongside a national police operation called Op Limit, where all police forces in England and Wales are increasing their presence on the roads to coincide with the football World Cup and lead-up to Christmas to target and catch drink and drug drivers.

In 2020 (latest published figures) an estimated 6,480 people were killed or injured in the UK when one of the drivers involved was over the drink-drive limit.

Chief Constable Jo Shiner, who is the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Roads Policing, is sharing a message for all drivers and their friends. She said: ‘Drink driving destroys lives, but tragically every day reckless drivers get behind the wheel and put themselves and others at risk.

‘People who drink drive need to be stopped. Our campaign aims to save lives by deterring people from drink and drug-driving, and to deal robustly with offenders.

‘That’s why we are calling on the public and friends of drink drivers to prevent, persuade and – as a last resort – report drink driving to police this Christmas.’

Hertfordshire Constabulary is asking friends to plan ahead for their night out over the festive period. Who is your designated driver? Can you pre-book a taxi? Can you walk to the venue?

There’s also a role for persuasion – can you step in to help someone who’s about to drink drive to get home safely?

If persuasion doesn’t work, you can report a drink driver to the police so they can stop them, arrest them and get them off the road. Last Christmas, 255 of drivers were caught drink or drug driving across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire in December. That works out at more than eight people per day.

Chief Inspector Jason Finnegan, who co-ordinates the local activity in support of road policing campaigns, said: ‘We are working to reduce the number of people who are killed by drink and drug drivers across Hertfordshire. We want people to enjoy their festive season but want to remind people of the consequences drink driving can have. You could face a minimum 12-month driving ban, an unlimited fine and even a prison sentence. There’s also the personal impact of having a criminal record and possibly losing your job. Most importantly you could kill or seriously injure yourself or someone else.

‘You also need to remember that alcohol takes time to leave your system, so you may still be over the drink drive limit the morning after the night before.’

Hertfordshire Constabulary is calling on the public and friends of drink drivers to prevent, persuade and – as a last resort – report drink driving to police this Christmas.