News

The Prosser Perspective.... a weekly column from Dover and Deal MP Gwyn Prosser

20 December 2007

By being involved in a number of road safety campaigns in Dover and in Deal and at House of Commons I have had close contact with constituents who have lost loved ones in road traffic accidents and I’ve shared some of the pain that grieving parents suffer when their child is suddenly snatched away from them in a fatal road accident.

All road deaths and injuries are tragic but some are more tragic and avoidable than others. For instance, drink driving killed 540 people last year and each death impacts dramatically on the survivors and on the families and friends of the deceased. Drink driving destroys lives in a pointless and wholly avoidable way and it also ruins lives and shatters dreams.

More than 6,000 people were hurt in drink-drive related accidents at weekends last year, with more than a third of these injured between 10pm and 3 o’clock in the morning.

To crack down on drinking and driving this Christmas, the Government and Police have once again joined forces to urge anyone hitting the party scene to leave their car keys at home.

The Christmas drink-drive THINK! campaign - with brand new Internet and radio adverts - was launched in the run-up to Christmas by the Labour Government to remind drivers, and young men in particular, just how badly getting behind the wheel after a few drinks can affect their lives. Alongside this, the Association of Chief Police Officers are coordinating a nationwide police operation to tackle drink and drug driving over the festive period.

Being caught driving when over the limit has serious consequences which many offenders don’t give enough thought to until they find themselves in the police cell. For instance the drink driver will collect a criminal record which will stay on the books and blight his employment prospects for all of his working life.

The offence carries a minimum one year driving ban which stays on your licence for 11 years plus a hefty fine and it could land you with a custodial sentence even if no one is hurt. But causing death by careless driving when under the influence of drinks or drugs could land you with a fourteen year sentence.

One or two pints can be more than enough to push you over the limit and those who think they’ll never get caught should reflect on the fact that more than half a million drivers will be stopped and breathalysed this year and more breath tests will be carried out over Christmas than at other times. Last year, some 100,000 tests proved positive.

The Government’s THINK ! campaign is designed to make people think twice about the serious consequences of drinking and driving and the message is – “It's just not worth paying this price for a couple of drinks at the Christmas party - so leave the car keys at home.