Grieving Councillor's Powerful Drink Drive Message

Councillor Vincent Ricci, Councillor for Denton North East

The reason I’m here today is just to share with you a short story about the devastation that drink driving does and the statistics which come out of that and recently my father has become one of those statistics.

More than half a million breath tests are carried out in the UK each year.

Last year alone 90,000 people were convicted of drink driving.

3,500 people a year are killed or seriously injured in the UK as a result of drink driving.

On the 16 of November they had to turn my father’s life support machine off because he was involved in a road traffic accident.

On 4 November 2010, 79 year old Anthony went out to buy a newspaper.

On 16 November, Anthony's wife Edith had to take the decision to switch off his life support machine.

They were due to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary in a few months.

He wasn’t driving at the time; he was a pedestrian. All he did wrong was go to collect a paper from the local newsagents and unfortunately, leaving him with horrific head injuries, severe brain trauma, which led to him being in a coma and unfortunately, twelve days later they had to turn the machine off. So by me sharing this short story with you it may stop people who think that they’re okay to drive and think that they’re not over the limit to not chance it and it may stop other families, it may prevent other families from going through what me and my family are going through at the moment because it’s not just the evening, it’s also the morning after the evening when you could be over the limit and you don’t think you are.

51% of drivers are unaware they could still be over the drink drive limit the next morning.

17% of all drink driving convictions occur the morning after.

3 large glasses of wine or 4 pints of beer could be enough to take you over the limit the next day.

So please, for the sake of other families out there, who potentially could go through what me and particularly my mother’s going through, please think again before you get in the car. Thank you.

Drinking alcohol slows down your reactions, impairs your vision and hearing, makes you lose concentration, makes you drowsy.

Anthony Ricci
Born 21 December 1930 - Died 16 November 2010

Our thoughts and sympathy go to Vincent, Edith, his family and friends.

www.tameside.gov.uk/alcohol/drinking