North Yorkshire Police have launched the annual, winter drink and drug driving campaign. 

It will run from (Friday 1st December) until (Sunday 2nd January). 

Officers from across the Force will be supporting the month-long crackdown in a bid to keep our communities and roads safer throughout December and to ensure everyone gets home safely to enjoy the festive season with family and friends. 

People convicted of drink or drug driving can expect to be banned from driving for at least 12 months, receive an unlimited fine and/or six months in prison. When someone dies as a result of a collision involving a driver under the influence of drugs or alcohol, sentences can carry a penalty of up to life imprisonment. 

Drink and drug driving is one of the main contributors in collisions and is one of the fatal five driving offences, alongside careless driving, not wearing a seat belt, excessive speed and using a mobile phone whilst behind the wheel. 

Our focus continues to be to reduce the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on our roads. 

It is not our intention to stop people from having fun, our intention is to try and ensure that everyone gets home safely and no one receives that terrible knock on the door to tell them the devastating news that someone they love has been killed or seriously injured. 
If you think you are safe to drive after drinking or taking drugs, think again. Even the slightest amount of alcohol or drugs in your system can affect the way you drive, increasing the risk of serious harm to yourself and other road users. 
It’s not possible to say how much alcohol you can drink and stay below the limit as the way alcohol affects you depends on various factors, and the risks of getting behind the wheel, not just on the night when you have been drinking, but also the morning after, could be fatal. 
Over the festive season extra patrols will be held across Craven along with proactive operations and roadside checks. These will be held at different times, including early morning operations, when drivers could still be impaired from celebrations the night before. 
To report suspected drink or drug driving, call 999 in an emergency or for non-urgent matters call 101. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website. 

Watch NYP's video, No more empty chairs this Christmas, here….

https://fb.watch/wBIO52Cge8/?