DRINK-DRIVING is not acceptable – that’s the message behind the latest anti-drink-drive campaign.
The message from the Department of Infrastructure’s road safety unit and the Isle of Man Constabulary is simple: don’t drink and drive this Christmas and New Year.
Chief Inspector Sid Caine said: ‘Once again this campaign highlights the consequences when people drink and drive. Not only do individuals risk serious injury or worse but they also put their licences, and potentially their jobs, in jeopardy.
‘It is important that we get the message across the spectrum. One arrest for drink driving is one too many, one serious injury, one life changing road traffic accident, one death is one too many. Drink driving is totally utterly unacceptable.’
The campaign was launched on Thursday at The Hawthorn, on Main Road in Greeba. The reason why it was decided to use the venue was not only because it ias a pub but it is also a pub on a bus route that is easy to get to without having to drive.
This year’s campaign includes images in the style of ‘specials blackboards’, which are normally seen in pubs and restaurants advertising that day’s special offers, with this year’s drinking and driving specials on offer being a 12- month driving ban, a fine of up to £5,000 and a free criminal record.
The campaign advises drivers of the consequences of a drink-drive conviction and the ways to avoid it by catching a bus, taxi or getting a designated driver, who hasn’t been drinking to drive.
Police state that the answer ‘I didn’t know I was over the limit’, when a person is stopped in the early hours of the morning by a police officer, is not an excuse to avoid a conviction.
Chief Inspector Caine stated that if drivers are unaware of how much they are allowed to drink, then they shouldn’t drive.
Statistics from the past three years have shown that police arrested more drivers aged between 18 and 25 for drink-driving compared with any other age bracket.
The Department of Infrastructure’s road safety manager, Gordon Edwards, said: ‘You may have only had one or two drinks but even a small amount of alcohol can affect a person’s ability to drive safely. If you drink and drive you are taking a massive risk and face prosecution from the police – or even worse, endangering your own life and the lives of innocent people.’ Anyone arrested and charged with drink-driving during the festive period will be fast-tracked through the courts system.