By Haylee J Morris & Kate Morgan
Cumbria Police has joined forces with local students to spread their drink and drug drive message this summer.
Students from William Howard School, Brampton, have produced a video highlighting the consequences of drink driving, which is being used as part of Cumbria Constabulary's summer drink drive campaign, which will be launched on 1 June 2011.
Haylee Morris, one of the producers of the film said: "I thought of the idea because we wanted to raise awareness of the dangers of drink driving and how people can be seriously injured or killed. After someone at the school was involved in a drink driving accident, I wanted people to know the consequences of what could happen. I have been bringing this to the attention of my friends and family to encourage them to drive safely and I wanted to produce a video to try and get the message across to people across Cumbria."
Officers are warning motorists who risk driving under the influence of drink or drugs that they will be targeted throughout the summer months as research shows that people tend to increase their intake at this time of year as people head to rural pubs and beer gardens to enjoy the light nights.
During last year's Summer Drink and Drug Drive Campaign, 75% of positive tests were as a result of Police intervention, 25% were following a collision.
Historically the most common time frame for alcohol related collisions throughout the summer period is between 9pm and 4am, especially on Saturday and Sunday.
June 2009 and 2010 saw arrests for drink driving averaging at around three per day.
This year officers will continue their zero-tolerance approach and will increase their use of breath tests and stop checks at targeted locations where they know motorists risk getting behind the wheel after a drink.
Chief Inspector Kevin Greenhow, who is responsible for Cumbria Constabulary's Roads Policing Unit, said: "We have been trying for years to hammer home the dangers of drink and drug driving but the message is simply not getting through to some people."
"We hope people will listen to local youngsters as we want to make Cumbria's road safer for every generation.
"Forget about trying to calculate the legal limit - the message is simple- don't drink and drive, no matter how much alcohol you think you've consumed".
