Drink drivers are warned – Be a “Euros Football Friend,” or face the penalties

The Safer Essex Roads Partnership (SERP) has increased their roadside enforcement over the summer, to run in line with their drink drive campaign, Euros Football Friend.

Essex Police have already made a total of 78 arrests, after roadside tests found drivers to have excessive amounts of alcohol or drugs in their system.

Adam Pipe, Head of Road Policing, said: “Roads Policing officers will be performing additional roadside checks, in response to the current campaign period. Disappointingly, we continue to identify people who simply ignore our messages, driving under the influence of drink or drugs, risking other road users, and themselves, through their selfish actions.”

SERP’s Euros Football Friend campaign was launched on the first day of the Euros, June 14th, in line with the first match, with the aim to lower unnecessary road death, due to drink driving, and featured England football legend, David James, and actor, Joe Thomas, and promotes the alternative transport options available to Euro revellers, including DigiGo, a shared public transport service which offers on-demand or pre-bookable travel in parts of Essex, and the Travel Essex App, which provides users real time travel information, to make an informed decision on their journey.

Will Cubbin, SERP Partnership Manager, said: “The 78 arrests for drink or drug driving in Essex, over the period of less than a fortnight, shows how active our police colleagues are in keeping dangerous people off the roads during the Euros. Our campaign follows an analysis of collision data that demonstrated that young men are sadly most affected by drink driving, with at least 258 men under the age 40 killed or seriously injured in drink driving crashes on Essex roads, over the last ten years. We continue to encourage everyone, especially young men, to pay attention to the Euros Football Friend campaign, to plan their journeys ahead, and understand that getting behind the wheel is never a good idea after drinking.”

To find out more about the Euros Football Friend campaign, visit: www.saferessexroads.org/EurosFootballFriend


 

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