Drink driving message not getting through

A hard-hitting anti-drink driving campaign launched across Northern Ireland today has said that the ‘don’t drink and drive’ message is not getting through to local drivers.

The national road safety charity, Brake, released figures as part of Road Safety Week 2004 which revealed that fatalities caused by drunk or drugged drivers in Northern Ireland have increased by 50% over the past decade – from 25 deaths in 1993 to 37 deaths in 2003.

Last year alone, deaths by drunk and drugged drivers rose by a third, from 28 in 2002 to 37 in 2003. Total casualties (deaths, serious and slight injuries) have also risen – from 647 in 1993 to 735 in 2003.

Mary Williams OBE, chief executive of Brake, said: “Drinking and driving is the most horrendous, and flagrant, illegal act that a driver can commit, which is causing a terrible death toll that is rising, not falling.

“It is vital for everyone across Northern Ireland to pledge in Road Safety Week to never drink and drive – not a drop – and never get in a vehicle with someone who has been drinking.”

Today’s figures also show that in 2003, alcohol and drugs was the single biggest factor in Northern Ireland fatal collisions, with speed a close second. More than one in three fatal crashes in Northern Ireland involved drink or drugs.

A recent road safety campaign by PSNI called Operation Viper, which took place at locations across Northern Ireland, caught 47 drink-drivers over a period of three days.

(MB/SP)