Drivers across the Bath area are being targeted in a series of events to highlight the dangers of drink driving, especially during the Christmas and New Year period.
Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Road Safety Team is out and about asking people if they are aware how long it takes, after having a drink, before they are fit to drive.
The team is holding drop-in sessions at the Royal United Hospital on 5th and 13th December, Bath College’s City Centre campus on 6th December and its Somer Valley campus on 12th December.
At each event the team will highlight the time it takes for alcohol to pass through the body and explain especially to young drivers the dangers of drinking and driving.
They will also demonstrate a free downloadable app from Google Play and Apple Store (www.morning-after.org.uk) which gives users an idea of how long it takes for alcohol to pass through the body.
Councillor Tim Warren (Conservative, Mendip) Leader of the council said: “This advice is so important and could save lives.
“Whatever the time of year the message is clear – don’t drink and drive and do make sure that after a night out you are safe to get behind the wheel; even if it’s the morning after.”
A report by The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, RoSPA, says in 2015, provisional figures showed that 220 people were killed, 1,160 were seriously injured and there were more than 8,000 casualties in total in drink drive accidents.
It said that although the level of drinking and driving has dropped dramatically over the last three decades, more than 200 people are still killed in drink drive accidents every year.
Despite 30 years of drink drive education and enforcement, more than 70,000 people are still caught drink driving annually.
