ON THE BEAT
Withinspector
December marks the beginning of winter, with increasingly cold, slippery and dark conditions.
Driving at this time of year can be daunting and treacherous, with freezing conditions and low sun glares. Due to this we see a rise in collisions, causing us to place extra focus on road safety, and I would urge drivers to take extra care when out, leave longer for journey and wrap up warm.
Further hints and tips regarding safe driving can be found at www. metoffice.gov.uk/barometer/getreadyfor-winter/travel- advice or www.readyscotland.org/are-youready/severe-weather.
In addition to encouraging safe driving, Police Scotland have launched the annual festive drink/ drug drive campaign for 2016. This was launched nationally on Friday, December 2, and will run for a fourweek period finishing on Monday, January 2, 2017.
Road safety is a policing priority for Police Scotland and we are committed to playing a leading role in achieving the Scottish Government’s 2020 casualty reduction targets. We will be doing this by continuing to increase awareness of the risks associated with drink/drug driving and enforcing relevant legislation through the detection of offenders in an effort to reduce the number of casualties on Scotland’s roads.
The campaign will be conducted through a combination of intelligenceled high-visibility patrols and static road checks.
Speaking about this year’s campaign, our Assistant Chief