Innovative police roadshows highlight dangers of drink and drug driving

A ground-breaking interactive campaign educating people of the dangers and wide-reaching impact of drink and drug driving will be hitting the streets from today (Friday 1 December 2023).

In support of public roadshow engagement events, taking place in Nottingham and Mansfield, Nottinghamshire Police will be handing out a limited number of unique sobriety activity packs to those taking part.

These educational packs, believed to be a first-of-a-kind in the country, include a selection of activities and tasks people can complete with family and friends, raising wider awareness in a bid to make our roads safer.

They will also include pairs of ‘beer goggles’, simulating how alcohol can affect your reactions and impair your ability to drive, a true and false game, a QR code participants can use to give their feedback on their experiences, and informative materials for people to read.

Our first roadshows are set to take place in Nottingham's Trinity Square today (Friday 1 December 2023) and tomorrow (Saturday 2 December 2023), from 5pm to 6.30pm.

We’ll be holding our first Mansfield roadshow, in Market Square, on Friday 8 December, again from 5pm to 6.30pm.

Further events will be held at the same times/locations on:

• Thursday 14 December - Nottingham
• Friday 15 December - Mansfield

During our roadshows, members of the public will be invited to don a pair of the beer goggles and then complete a series of sobriety-related tests – so they can experience the drastic effects for themselves.

Our friendly officers will also be using non-evidential breath tests at the events, so people can gain first-hand experience of being tested and get an indication of how much alcohol they have in their system.

As well as the police, fellow blue light services due to attend and support our crime prevention roadshows include East Midlands Ambulance Service, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, and Nottingham City Councils’ Community Protection. 

In addition to our roadshows, our Roads Policing Unit, response, and neighbourhood teams, will continue to patrol our roads in the run-up to Christmas and throughout the festive period to keep people safe and catch any drink and drug drivers who selfishly choose to put their own lives and other people’s lives at risk.

Our ‘A Deadly Mix’ campaign is being supported again this year by widow and mum-of-two Clair Osborne, of Mansfield Woodhouse, who lost her 48-year-old husband, Mark, in a collision caused by a drink driver. 

Mark was killed when his motorbike was clipped by a swerving van on the A60, near Arnold, in July 2021.

Clair, who is set to attend our Mansfield roadshow dates, said: 

“The pain of losing Mark is still raw for me and my children. We all still miss him just as much as we did two-and-a-half years ago and there are constant reminders of what we have lost, especially at this time of year.

“We’re supporting this campaign in Mark’s memory. People need to come along to these roadshow events and realise how having just one drink and then getting behind the wheel can destroy lives.

"Please don’t take the risk and be the reason why families like mine are destroyed forever.”

Inspector John Lees, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

“We’re encouraging people to come along and say hello at our roadshows and learn more about why drinking and driving is such a deadly mix.

"We’re not trying to ruin people’s festive fun. We just want to encourage everyone to plan ahead and ensure that they can keep themselves and others safe on the road by not drinking or using drugs before driving.

“Driving after consuming alcohol or drugs can have devastating consequences and can easily result in loss of life. All too often we attend road traffic incidents which have life changing impacts on families.

“Please think about your drinking behaviours, particularly over the festive period. Please keep yourself, your family, and others safe and make it your rule: If you have had a drink, don’t drive.”