{"id":77292,"date":"2025-12-10T16:44:27","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T15:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ascert.biz\/?p=77292"},"modified":"2025-12-10T16:44:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T15:44:52","slug":"drug-and-alcohol-charity-backs-psni-winter-anti-drink-drug-drive-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/drug-and-alcohol-charity-backs-psni-winter-anti-drink-drug-drive-operation\/","title":{"rendered":"Drug and alcohol charity backs PSNI winter anti-drink &#038; drug-drive operation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>ASCERT, Northern Ireland\u2019s leading alcohol, drug and mental-health charity, welcomed the launch of the <strong>Police Service Northern Ireland\u2019s (<\/strong>PSNI\u2019s) winter campaign to crack down on drink and drug driving.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Figures released by the PSNI stated that 298 people were arrested on suspicion of drink or drug driving in December 2024 in Northern Ireland.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cWe stand firmly behind this campaign,\u201d<\/strong> said Gary McMichael, Chief Executive of ASCERT. <strong>\u201cDriving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a choice that can destroy lives and not just your own, but the lives of innocent people on the roads.<\/strong> With winter nights drawing in and festive socialising on the rise, the increased police presence and roadside testing will send a clear message: there is no excuse for getting behind the wheel impaired.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added: \u201cAt ASCERT we work every day with people whose lives have been turned upside down by alcohol and drugs. We know how quickly things can spiral out of control when alcohol or substances play a part, and that\u2019s why we support every effort to prevent harm at source.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0Tips for a safe night out and getting home safely<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Plan ahead:<\/strong> if you\u2019re going out, decide in advance how you\u2019ll get home without driving. Book a taxi or use public transport<\/li>\n<li><strong>Avoid drinking or using drugs if you know you\u2019ll be driving.<\/strong> Even small amounts can impair your judgement.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Look out for your friends:<\/strong> ensure no one attempts to drive if they\u2019ve been drinking or using substances.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t leave your drink unattended<\/strong>, and watch out for drink-spiking, especially at busy venues.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Keep the number of a taxi company<\/strong> saved on your phone, or use a trusted friend who\u2019s sober to drive you home.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo one should feel they have to cope alone,\u201d said McMichael. \u201cIf substance use or its consequences are affecting your life, reach out. We\u2019re ready to listen and support you.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anyone wishing to access support for their alcohol or drug use can contact <strong>ASCERT<\/strong> at <strong>info@ascert.biz<\/strong> or <strong>0800 2545 123 <\/strong>or visit<strong> www.ascert.biz<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ASCERT, Northern Ireland\u2019s leading alcohol, drug and mental-health charity, welcomed the launch of the Police Service Northern Ireland\u2019s (PSNI\u2019s) winter campaign to crack down on drink and drug driving.<\/p>\n<p>Figures released by the PSNI stated that 298 people were arrested on suspicion of drink or drug driving in December 2024 in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4915,"featured_media":77294,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[271,297],"tags":[445],"class_list":["post-77292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-blog-2","tag-drink-drug-driving"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4915"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/devserva.inicodigital.com\/maina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}