Police make an impact on drink and drug driving in 24 hours of action
Monday, 15 December, 2008
Pictured: Insp Ron Orr, from the Manchester City Safe team and Station Commander Jon Crawley, from Manchester Central Fire Station.
The drink drive day of action carried out by Greater Manchester Police in Manchester city centre last Friday (12 December) has proved to be a success.
Over the 24 hours of activity 167 cars were stopped along arterial routes in and out of the city, 11 fixed penalty notices were given, four seizures were carried out for no insurance and two arrests were made, one for drink driving and one for possession of an offensive weapon.
Two drugs dogs were also used to support police officers and around 20 cars were searched, two of which proved positive for having drugs previously used inside them.
Officers displayed a crashed car in the city, recovered from a fatal drink drive accident, to remind people about the consequences of drink and drug driving.
Illuminated advertisements were displayed on a large vehicle that also drove around the city with messages about drink driving from the 'Think!' campaign and 'Think safe, Drink safe' messages to remind people to stay with friends and plan how they were going to get home at the end of the evening.
To reduce drink driving during the rest of the festive season, officers will be increasing spot checks of drivers at peak times and will continue testing for alcohol and drugs at various locations across Greater Manchester.
Chief Inspector Chris Hill said: "I am really pleased with the success of this operation, police and partners, such the Fire Service and Manchester City Council, have worked really well together to make sure we can get a strong message out to the public during this busy time.
"A large number of people were stopped, but with only one positive drink driving result, this shows that our message is being received and understood. I want drivers to be aware that this is not just a one off operation, drink driving is a serious offence with serious consequences.
"People definitely noticed the car on display on Deansgate and we had some very positive feedback about how impactive it was. I hope this will help to make people think about drinking and driving, not just over Christmas, but at all times of the year."
If you see someone drink driving during the festive season please call Greater Manchester Police on 0161 872 5050 or call the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
