Senior police figures team up to highlight pitfalls of drink/drug driving

12.00 | 13 December 2016 | | 2 comments

Two senior police figures in West Mercia have teamed up with the TTC Group to highlight the dangers of driving under the influence of drink or drugs.

John Campion, West Mercia’s police and crime commissioner (PCC), and temporary deputy chief constable (DCC) Chris Singer took on a driving simulator wearing drink-drive goggles at an event in Telford.

The goggles used during the exercise are designed to make the wearer see and feel as a drink driver does, and as a result the pair struggled to drive safely.

DCC Singer crashed into the back of a car and mounted the pavement, while John Campion ploughed through traffic cones.

DCC Singer, said: “It shows massively just how drink or drugged driving makes driving impossible to do.

“If you think you are safe to drive after drinking, well think again. This sort of campaign brings the message home. It is a very worthwhile event.

“The key message is that this is all about road safety. People want to get home to enjoy this time of the year with their families and not to be in a hospital or a morgue on Christmas Day.”

PCC Campion said: “I drove really badly. Alcohol and drugs affect how you drive. 10 people have lost their lives and more than 100 were seriously injured in West Mercia over the past three years.

“We know all too well the dangerous consequences of drink or drug driving. Too many people have lost their lives or been seriously injured, as a result of someone’s actions. Drink or drug driving is never worth the risk.

“As commissioner I will continue to support the police in doing all they can to make our roads safer. I am reassured by the police approach, both in terms of enforcement and awareness raising, and will continue to actively support initiatives and campaigns such as this.”

Alan Prosser, director of the TTC Group, said: “Anyone who tries this challenge will realise how alcohol and drugs affect your reactions when driving. The message we all want to hammer home is don’t take drink or drugs and drive.”

 

 

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    It will never be safe whilst drivers are encouraged to take the first drink or two. That inevitably and invariably leads to more and before you know it one’s cognitive ability is impaired but one’s own feelings and senses are heightened thus overshadowing any such concerns and leading one to believe that they are suffering no impairment at all. One doesn’t have to be over the limit to become involved in an incident and any amount of alcohol however small can seriously effect one ability to drive.


    Bob Craven Lancs
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    Having used beer goggles on a driving simulator on a number of occasions because members of the public wanted to try them out, I can categorically state that they do not work.

    Beer goggles work when trying to move around in an environment because the eyes have to change focus. They cease to work on a simulator as the driver’s head and the screens do not move in relation to each other. It is a waste of time, and entirely false to think of it replicating in any way the experience of drink driving. Long before one’s visual skills have been degraded by alcohol, one’s reactions and decision making are seriously impaired.


    David, Suffolk
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