Everyone wants to enjoy and make the most of the festive period, so this season the Road Safety teams from Kingston Council have joined forces with the Police, Street Pastors and the local bars and nightclubs of PubWatch to launch a hard-hitting campaign targeting drink drivers.

The blitz on drink driving will see additional Police patrols and enforcement in various locations around the two boroughs, as well as pastors on Kingston’s streets talking to young people and giving advice while distributing anti drink-drive leaflets and promoting alternative travel options for a safe journey home. Posters highlighting the risks of drink driving will also be displayed in the town centres, pubs and clubs.

The campaign, which will run throughout the Christmas and New Year period, spells out exactly what you stand to lose if you are caught over the limit — the consequences could include a criminal record, a fine up to £5000, a driving ban, the loss of your job or a fate that’s even worse.

We’re determined to do everything we can to prevent drink-drive related casualties. In recent years there have been some fatal collisions on our roads involving drivers who had been drinking and young people have lost their lives. We want to hammer home the message that risking a drink before driving can mean risking everything. If you have been drinking, please don’t even think about getting behind the wheel – your ability to drive will be impaired with potentially disastrous consequences.

says Inspector Mills, Operations at Kingston Police