A FRIDAY night shift for a Tavistock police response team was unusually ‘quiet’ last week but routine patrols showed that people are still willing to have a drink and get behind the wheel of the car.

On Friday, September 14, response team C started at 9pm and throughout their shift they conducted speed checks, moorland patrols and searched for drink drivers, all within the West Devon area, from Hatherleigh to The Green Hut in Roborough.

Speed checks were conducted on Plymouth Road by Tesco in Tavistock and on Parkwood Road outside Mount Kelly. Parkwood Road was a proven hot-spot with a few cars stopped for driving at excess speed — 42, 47 and 48mph.

Police officers conducted routine patrols around the moors at Crapstone and Yelverton aerodrome and in Tavistock town centre.

They also stopped drivers they believed were under the influence of drink — roadside breath tests were provided but even though the drivers were under the limit, police were amazed that people thought it was ‘acceptable’ to have a drink and get behind the wheel of the car.

PC Nathan Brennan said: ‘We conducted four breath tests and they all passed but they were all close to the limit. It shows that people are still happy to drive after they have had a drink.’

Devon and Cornwall police advise that even a small amount of alcohol will affect your ability to drive. If you drink and then get behind the wheel of a car, you risk your life, the lives of your passengers and others on the road.

ADVICE:

• Don’t drink and drive. The only safe limit is none.

•Beware of the morning after. You could still be over the limit.

• Plan how to get home without the need to drive.

• Don’t offer an alcoholic drink to someone you know is planning to drive.

• Don’t accept a lift from a driver you know has drunk alcohol.