OPINION: Drink driving figures cause for concern

Senior Sergeant Ian Campion is calling for motorists to obey the rules

Provisional figures showing Bay police nabbed 1258 people drink driving in the Bay are truly frightening.

Alarmingly, the number of drivers caught in the Bay is expected to increase as blood samples sent away for testing are returned.

The appalling waste of life caused by drink drivers has been well publicised yet some drivers, it seems, choose to ignore the best efforts of police and other road safety groups to raise awareness of the danger they put themselves and others in when they choose to get behind the wheel while intoxicated.

These road safety messages have been hammered home for years.

Drink drivers also choose to ignore the anguish expressed by families who have lost a loved one because someone chose to get drunk and drive.

The drivers caught last year represent more than 1000 dangerous motorists whose drink-impaired driving skills could spell death for those who have the misfortune of meeting them on the road.

On top of this, police recently issued 235 speeding tickets in the Western Bay in one week and 168 tickets were issued to drivers for breaches of their learner's or restricted licences over the official holiday period.

It all adds up to police facing an uphill battle making our roads safer.

Of course, it's not a task that rests only with road safety groups and the police.

Everyone has to play a part in making our roads safer - whether that involves dissuading others from taking risks, or ensuring that they themselves abide by the road rules when they get behind the wheel.