Harrowing drink and drug-driving film released in Derbyshire road safety campaign

The three-minute video, called Driving Home for Christmas, aims to raise awareness of the dangers of driving under the influence and how such a decision can shatter many people’s lives.

It is being released to coincide with the annual Don’t Get Wrecked campaign – a joint project between Derbyshire Constabulary and Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service (DFRS) that tackles those who get behind the wheel after drinking or taking drugs.

The film – featuring a cast of local actors – was co-funded by Derbyshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Angelique Foster and the Derbyshire and Derby Road Safety Partnership. It was produced by Derbyshire Constabulary’s multimedia team with help from Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service and East Midlands Ambulance Service.

Derbyshire Constabulary will be increasing roads policing patrols during the festive period.

Chief Inspector David Nicholls, who leads the Derbyshire Roads Policing Unit, said: “Time and again, our officers have to tell a child in the days before Christmas that their mum or dad are never coming home, or we visit someone to say their loved one is dead because of a drink or drug-driver. The heartbreak those words cause cannot be explained. It has to stop.

In the last three years there have been 538 casualties involved in collisions where drink or drug driving were involved. Unfortunately, in the same time frame, a staggering 15 people have died from collisions involving alcohol or drugs.