A staggering 25 per cent of road deaths in north Essex are drink-related.
Getting the message across - the Evening Gazette anti-drink-drive campaign.
Stanway traffic police today condemned the loss of those five lives on the roads of Colchester and Tendring as "needless".
PC Roger Manser said: "In 2004, there were 22 road deaths in Colchester and Tendring. Drink was a factor in five of those - five needless deaths.
"If we can reduce death by 25 per cent every year, there would be so many people enjoying a nice Christmas this year with friends and family. Instead, Christmas was ruined for five families."
Traffic police have given the Evening Gazette's anti-drink drive campaign their full support. It dovetails the force's drink-drive crackdown in the run-up to Christmas.
A shocking 28 per cent of Essex's road crashes in which people are killed or seriously injured involves booze.
But despite these shocking statistics, the message still doesn't seem to be getting across to some selfish motorists.
More in today's Evening Gazette
Published Friday, December 9, 2005
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