Police vow to catch 'irresponsible minority'

The PSNI pledged today to catch the “irresponsible minority” in Northern Ireland who drink and drive this Christmas.

As the PSNI launched its annual campaign, Assistant Chief Constable Roy Toner said that once again, the message was simple: “Never, ever, drink and drive”.

In a hard-hitting message the service said there would be 21 families with an empty space at their Christmas table because of those who continued to drink and drive this year.

ACC Toner said 21 deaths so far this year on top of 37 deaths and 145 serious injuries last year due to drink-drivers was clearly unacceptable.

“The human consequences of drinking and driving are quite simply horrific. Drinking and driving takes lives and leaves others seriously injured,” he said.

Police figures reveal that in the first nine months of the year more than 3,000 drink drivers had been detected on Northern Ireland’s roads.

Mr Toner said: “An irresponsible minority ignore all advice and warnings and, what’s more, ignore the feelings of a vast majority of people, for whom drinking and driving is shameful and unacceptable.”

He pledged: “We will continue to robustly enforce the law through increased patrolling and targeted policing operations to detect those who continue to break the law.

“If you drink and drive, you can be assured that we will catch you.” Coinciding with the start of the police crackdown, the British department of the environment is launching its hard-hitting TV anti-drink-driving advertising campaign.

Harry Green, chief road safety officer at the department, said research carried out in Northern Ireland indicated the vast majority of the adult population considered drink-driving socially unacceptable and extremely shameful.

“It might surprise people to learn that it is viewed as being as reprehensible as drug-dealing,” he said.

Mr Green warned people to consider the dangers of driving the morning after a night of drinking.

People need to remember they could still be over the limit and that could be exacerbated by fatigue and the effects of a hangover, he said.

“I must stress that this is not just about being over the limit. Very low levels of alcohol will impair your ability to drive,” he said.