The party season is nearly here. A time for celebration, fun and catching up with family and friends. Police Scotland is asking everyone to take a few minutes to plan ahead when out and about to ensure you have a fun and safe Christmas.
Some tips could help prevent your night from ending badly;
- Plan your Christmas night out – charge your mobile, remember to take it with you and think about how you’ll get home.
- Book a taxi from a reputable company or arrange for a family member or friend to pick you up.
- If drinking alcohol, be sensible about how much you consume. A drunk person is a far easier target for a criminal.
- Don’t leave drinks unattended.
- Don’t use drugs or New Psychoactive Substances, sometimes misleadingly called ‘legal highs’. Legal doesn’t mean safe – they can contain toxic and harmful chemicals. Why risk your life?
- Stick with friends – don’t leave nights out on your own or with strangers.
- Take care of each other and make sure you all get home safely.
- Stay safe on your journey home – never take isolated short cuts. Keep to busy areas and on public transport, sit where there are lots of other people. If you’re using a taxi, make sure it’s licensed.
- Drivers should be mindful that partygoers, particularly those under the influence of alcohol can step out / stagger onto the road without warning. Slow down when in crowded areas.
Police would also like to remind people that the drink driving limit was lowered last year the limit is now 50mg in every 100ml of blood, so, beware the morning after: you could still be over the limit and risk your license the morning after the night before.
Sleep, coffee and cold showers don’t help you to sober up – time is the only way to get alcohol out of your system.
Detective Inspector Michael Miller, safer Communities said: “I would urge anyone planning on heading out to please drink responsibly and not to take drugs. Don’t let a great night be ruined by the over-consumption of alcohol. We want everyone to enjoy themselves safely this Christmas.
”Police Scotland’s message is simple, don’t take drugs and avoid any NPS, so called legal highs. They are incredibly dangerous, you don’t know what’s in them, and legal doesn’t mean safe. Remember, This Christmas, Keep Safe.”
For more information on the Campaign visit the Festive Safety pages within Keep Safe to learn more about safety information whilst online, shopping, partying and at home.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
