Success for Crimestoppers campaign to "shop" drink drivers

Licensees are being asked to continue throwing their weight behind a campaign to "shop" drink drivers.

The Crimestoppers controversial campaign, which encourages licensees and members of the public to phone with information if they suspect someone of drink driving, successfully led to the arrest of 50 people over the Christmas and New Year period.

And although rewards of £500 were on offer, only a handful of a total of 1,600 callers claimed the money.

Roy Clark, director of Crimestoppers, said: "We are pleased the campaign has been such a success. We have arrested a significant number of persistent drink-drivers who may otherwise have caused death or injury to innocent bystanders."

The publicity surrounding the campaign would undoubtedly have deterred other would-be drink-drivers from getting behind the wheel, he added.

Sarah Anns, spokeswoman for the Campaign Against Drink Driving (CADD), said she fully supported the scheme. "Anything that gets persistent drink drivers off the road will get the thumbs up from us."

Anti-drink and drive campaigns have been applauded by the police and the trade for successfully reducing the number of drink drivers over the last few years (see The Publican January 13).

Although Christmas 2002 saw no reduction on incidents of drink driving compared with the year before, the Association of Chief Police Officers said it had reduced 22 per cent in the last five years thanks to a huge amount of media activity.

Meanwhile, some trade leaders believe that drug driving is a far worse problem than drink driving. A survey of motorists who were driving erratically in the Lothian and Borders area of Scotland over Christmas showed that two thirds had taken an illegal substance before getting into their car.

Of the 28 drivers checked 17 had drugs present in their bloodstreams, sparking road safety campaigners to call for the issue to be addressed.

Meanwhile, scientists have invented "beer goggles" to show people just how unfocused they are when drunk in a bid to curb drink driving.

The goggles are being used to boost alcohol awareness among convicted drink-drivers in the Telford area of Birmingham.The glasses, which have been imported from America, simulate drunkenness and give the wearer the impression they are twice over the legal limit.