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North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Andy Dunbobbin joined officers from North Wales Police’s Roads Policing Unit (RPU) as part of their Christmas anti-drink and drug driving campaign on the evening of 21 December.
The team from the RPU included Inspector Iwan Roberts, Sergeant Liam Ho, PC Nicholas Choak, PC Pete Doran and PC Dylan Smith. The officers were out stopping motorists on either side of the A548 in Gronant, Flintshire to test via a breathalyser if any were flouting the law and endangering their fellow public while driving while intoxicated. Mr Dunbobbin discussed the importance of the campaign with officers, their experiences during the campaign so far, and saw for himself their engagement with the public and the advice they were giving motorists on the importance of not drink or drug driving.
This year’s campaign has so far seen 62 drivers arrested for suspected drug driving, and 42 arrested for suspected drink driving as of 21 December. The motorists arrested for drug driving will now wait for the results of further tests before a charging decision is made. If convicted of drug driving, they could face being disqualified, receive a fine, a prison sentence and a criminal record. Few people also realise that a drug drive conviction also means greater insurance costs and the possibility of being unable to travel to countries such as the USA.
Andy Dunbobbin, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Wales, commented: “No one wants to see the police knocking at their door this Christmas with the appalling news that a loved one has been involved in an accident caused by drink or drug driving. It was good to see the officers of the Roads Policing Unit engaging with the public and spreading the message that drink and drug driving can kill and that it won’t be tolerated in North Wales. Operations such as this one in Gronant, and elsewhere across the region, help to reinforce that message. I am the first Police and Crime Commissioner of North Wales to have improving road safety as a standalone pledge in my plan for policing and crime, and this year’s anti-drink and drug driving campaign is a good example of this pledge in action.”
Inspector Iwan Roberts of North Wales Police’s Roads Policing Unit commented: “As officers, we are passionate about what we do. Every drink or drug driver taken off the road is hopefully an accident avoided, or a life saved.”
Throughout the campaign the support from the public and local businesses has been strong, with those stopped recognising the importance of the campaign’s message. Inspector Roberts said that last Sunday, during the recent cold spell, the Unit had been at St Asaph stopping motorists and the team at the Talardy Hotel had brought them hot drinks to help keep them warm, a gesture that was appreciated by officers and shows the support from local businesses for the efforts of the police in keeping their customers safe.
Sergeant Liam Ho said: “We see an increase in the numbers of drink and drug drivers at Christmas. The reason we are out stopping people during this time is partly for reasons of visibility and as a deterrent, but also to engage with the public. The majority of people we speak to aren’t drink or drug drivers. But by engaging with them, those we stop know we are being proactive and they may also tell other people, who could be thinking about it, not to take the risk of drink or drug driving at Christmas. For me, the message is prevention; it’s about trying to get people to think, ‘Is it worth taking the risk?’ before they get into a car.”
Follow the campaign on social media by following the #Fatal5 and #SaferChristmas hashtags.
If you have information relating to someone you think is driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs, please report it immediately to police on 101 (or 999 if they are posing imminent danger) or contact Crimestoppers anonymously via 0800 555 111.