Free gift & bottle tags being given out at Liverpool Christmas Markets carry important Road Safety message.
Merseyside Road Safety Partnership will be at Church Street, outside Next, on Thursday 2nd of December, giving out free Christmas bottle and gift tags, and advising people on how to stay safe on the roads over the festive period.
The number of people being arrested for drink driving have been on the rise since lockdown ended in March, with 150 people arrested in just one moth. With Christmas parties around the corner, MRSP wants to remind people to avoid the roads if they’ve had a drink – including the morning after.
Paul Mountford, Casualty Reduction Officer for the partnership wants people to know that the risk of driving after drinking the night before is very real:
“The morning after you’ve been drinking you’re at risk of slowed reaction times, reduced coordination, and a reduced ability to track moving objects. Officers conduct roadsides tests morning, afternoon and evening and arrest countless drivers every month throughout the year. Through December and January though, additional resources are put into that, and if you’ve been drinking the night before there’s a real chance you could end up with a fine, a ban or a prison sentence.’
During the Christmas drink and drug driving campaign which ran from December 2020 to January 2021, officers made 306 arrests for drink and drug driving in Merseyside. Despite the pandemic, drink driving arrest figures increased from 2019 by 10%.
Merseyside Road Safety Partnership will be encouraging people to prioritise giving the gift of getting home for Christmas, by taking extra care on the roads.
Sarah English, Merseyside Road Safety Partnership Coordinator said: ‘It’s really important that we get out and engage with people at this time of year. It was a quiet festive season last year with Covid, but now people are excited for big parties and gatherings. That’s why we’re launching our ‘Make Sure Everyone Gets Home Safe For Christmas’ campaign by giving away bottle and gift tags: we want people to really enjoy themselves, but also to keep each other safe while they’re doing it.’
The partnership is encouraging people to come along to the Church Street stall on the 2nd with any questions they might have about drink or drug driving, and to take bottle and gift tags for themselves and friends to help spread the message of getting home safely to loved ones.
