Encouraging everyone to wear their seatbelt and drive carefully.
'Have you Clicked' is the message to the people of South Ayrshire as a summer road safety campaign gets underway. This message appears on 4,000 distinctive seatbelt wraps that will given away free as part of a campaign to encourage people to always remember to wear their seatbelts when travelling in a car. At the same time the dangers of drinking alcohol or taking drugs and driving are being highlighted.
Seatbelts, something that people who have been drinking often forget to wear, can save lives. It is estimated that 1 in 3 people who are killed in vehicles in Scotland are not wearing seatbelts and if they had worn one half of them would have been saved.
Scotland is getting tougher on drink and drug driving this summer. Last year 8,504 people in Scotland were caught driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
South Ayrshire Council is working in partnership with the Scottish Government, Road Safety Scotland, the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), the Crown Office and the Procurator Fiscal service to encourage car drivers and passengers to act responsibly.
Councillor Peter Convery, Sustainability and the Environment Portfolio Holder said: "Some drivers need to realise that drinking alcohol or taking drugs and driving is not acceptable. We tend to think that drink driving only increases during the festive season but during the summer some people attending barbecues, consume alcohol and then drive home. This can lead to them causing or being involved in an accident and people being injured or killed.
"I would urge anyone who is out socialising and consumes alcohol not to drive. Make other arrangements to get home either by taxi, bus or with a nominated person who is happy not to drink alcohol. Likewise if you think that the driver of the vehicle that you are going to get a lift in has consumed alcohol do not get into the car.
"It is also important to remember that alcohol does not just disappear from your system, so consider very carefully whether you are fit to drive the morning after you have consumed alcohol.
Strathclyde Police has already run a summer safety campaign that highlighted the risks and consequences of drink or drug driving and saw increased patrols throughout South Ayrshire. If caught drivers will lose their licence, get an automatic 12 month ban, get a criminal record for a minimum of 20 years and risk being fined up to £5,000.
Forfeiting of vehicles was introduced during the 2009 Scottish Festive Safety Campaign and since then more than 200 repeat offenders have been caught and 39 vehicles have been seized and forfeited. At first this only applied to drink driving but now covers individuals caught driving under the influence of drugs.
Councillor Convery commenting on the importance of seatbelts said: "By simply wearing a seatbelt the risk of being seriously injured or killed is dramatically reduced.
"Road Safety Scotland, the Scottish Government and the Association of Chief Police Officers Scotland have been running a campaign - 'Have You Clicked?' to remind the general public, private businesses, employers and employees how vital it is to wear a seatbelt, it only takes a few seconds to vastly increase your safety while travelling by car."
To highlight the important of wearing a seatbelt 4,000 free seatbelt wraps will be given out across South Ayrshire over the next few months. They can be uplifted at a range of venues across South Ayrshire such as Council offices so look out for the distinctive yellow seatbelt wraps.