Half cut, to cut out

St. Helens Crime and Disorder Reduction Partners including St. Helens Council, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and Merseyside Police have joined forces with St. Johns Ambulance to demonstrate the potential after-effects of a few drinks – by showing what it’s like to be cut from the wreckage of a crashed car.

Advice will be available from the Council’s Road Safety and Travel Awareness team on all aspects of road safety, while visitors can also win Marks & Spencer vouchers in a special road safety competition.

Gillian Roberts, Road Safety Manager for St. Helens Council said, “The aim of the awareness day is to demonstrate that any amount of alcohol affects your ability to drive, and that there is no foolproof way of knowing how much an individual person can drink and still drive safely. We want to raise awareness about drinking responsibly as the World Cup approaches, and show that the only safe option if you do have a drink while enjoying the football, is to leave the car behind.”

The awareness day gets underway at 10am and runs through until 4pm. The cut out demonstrations are due to take place at 11am and 2pm.

Chief Inspector Keith McLachlin said: "Together with our partners we are determined to do everything we can to make the roads of Merseyside safer.

The message is simple – don’t drive if you’ve had a drink.  Even one drink can affect your ability to react so don’t offer a drink to someone who is driving.  It’s far safer to get a taxi home than take the risk as you will be caught."