Officers on anti drink drive patrols in Derry on Friday
And the message this year is very clear: don’t even take one drink and can impair your driving.
PSNi Foyle say on its Facebook pager: “Waterside NPT have been out and about last night keeping you safe.
“We started with a walk around Crescent Link saying hello to all the bargain hunters making the most of the Black Friday deals followed by a highly visible anti-burglary patrol around our patch.
“Later, we carried out a proactive search of a premises under warrant and then finished the evening off with a number of VCPs were we breathalised drivers to ensure our roads are safe and to raise awareness that even one drink can effect your driving.
“Be sure to keep your homes safe and secure and remember…. Never Ever Drink and Drive.”
The anti drink drive crackdown was officially launched by PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Alan Todd.
He warned of the “shameful and incredibly dangerous risk” of driving after taking alcohol or drugs.
Last year a 14-year-old and an 83-year-old were among more than 300 motorists caught drink driving around Christmas across the North of Ireland.
ACC Todd said just one drink could kill and urged people to plan their journeys home safely during the festive period.
From the end of November 2018 to 1 January 2019, 11,500 people were stopped and tested by police.
Of those motorists, more than 322 failed and were arrested.
“That’s 322 people who’ll be put before the courts, 322 people who will lose their licences, 322 people who will have a range of consequences around social embarrassment, potentially losing their jobs, certainly facing retest before being allowed back on the road and facing significantly higher insurance bills,” said ACC Todd.
“But, in many ways, those are the lucky ones that we caught before they were involved in either killing or seriously injuring a fellow road user, in which case they could be looking at a prison sentence.”
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