A campaign has been launched by Gloucestershire Police to stop drink and drug driving this December.
It comes after it was revealed that Gloucestershire is the second worst region for driving under the influence, with 420 arrests in the first half of the year.
The campaign will run from December 1 until January 1, and is intended to discourage drink driving during the World Cup.
During the 2018 World Cup, drink and drug driving casualties accounted for 20% of all road casualties on the day of England games, compared with 10% at other times of year.
The campaign will see more roadside stops across the county, as well as education programs to inform drivers of the dangers of driving under the influence.
Drugs can be even more dangerous than alcohol on the roads. Sergeant Gladwin, from Gloucestershire Police, said “Drugs, meanwhile, build up in your system over several days the more you use it, it doesn’t just disappear out of your body, whereas alcohol does” in an interview with Gloucestershire Live.
Police data shows that drivers who combine alcohol and drugs are 23 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than sober drivers.
Chris Nelson, the Police and Crime Commissioner, said “A great deal of work has gone into making drink driving socially unacceptable. Road users need to understand driving under the influence of drugs is equally unsafe and intolerable. Those who flout the law are not only putting themselves at risk but others too.”
