The 'Mourning' After!

Date published: 28/12/2009

With the party season in full swing, Drivesafe and System One Travelcards have been delivering a hard-hitting, anti-drink drive campaign throughout Greater Manchester, called 'The Mourning After', designed to prevent party revellers from getting behind the wheel the morning after a night out.

In 2008, there were 3,580 positive breath tests/arrests for drink driving in the region, demonstrating that many drivers are still risking their own lives and the lives of others by getting behind the wheel after having a drink.

The campaign has included actors in a staged crashed vehicle, made-up to look as if they have been in an accident, touring nine towns in Greater Manchester during December including: Rochdale, Bury, Trafford, Stockport, Manchester City Centre, Salford, Tameside, Oldham and Wigan.

At each site, Drivesafe representatives have been be on hand to offer advice and information, and Road Safety Officers have handed out drink measuring kits to encourage drivers to test the alcohol content in their drinks, aiming to demonstrate that it really is impossible to judge this with guesswork. System One Travelcards have been giving away free Day Savers at the road show, which allow unlimited travel on any bus in Greater Manchester for one day.

Chris Firby, Road Safety Officer for Greater Manchester, said: “Our priority is to ensure local residents are as safe as possible when travelling. We are advising drivers that there is no fail-safe guide to staying under the legal alcohol limit as it can greatly depend on how much you have eaten, your size, and your tolerance to alcohol, and that it is far safer not to drink at all if you have to drive.

“One of the most important things for drivers to be aware of is that drinking at night and driving the next day, could still be enough to put you over the limit - one in five drivers convicted for drink driving are caught the morning after. We are not telling people to avoid alcohol completely over the festive period, we just urge that if people do want to have a drink, they plan ahead and arrange alternative means of transport, both on their night out and the following day.”

Gradyn Thompson, general manager for System One Travelcards, said: “All around the region, there’s a fantastic system of buses, trains and trams, offering a safe, sensible and simple way to get home or to work the next day. We want to remind people that there are alternatives to driving the morning after and would encourage people to organise their travel in advance.”

System One Travelcards offers a range of travelcards for multi-operator and multi-mode travel across Greater Manchester - including train, bus and tram - with adult, young person, student and junior options. System One DaySavers are on sale on any bus, or at train stations and tram stops.