For most people, Christmas is a season of lights, music, and celebration. But for many police officers, it is also the season of dread — a time when too many evenings end not with laughter, but with blue lights, broken glass, and lives changed forever.
Officers know what drink driving looks like long before they reach the scene. They recognise the smell of burnt rubber, the sharp silence that follows a violent impact, and the way crowds gather with expressions that silently say, “It’s bad.” They feel that sinking weight in the stomach as they step out of the patrol car, preparing themselves for what they are about to find.
The First Moments
The first moments at a collision scene are the hardest. An officer must assess the injured, call for assistance, secure the road, comfort those who are frightened or in pain, and make split-second decisions under unimaginable pressure.
But behind the training and the procedure lies something else — the emotional toll of seeing what alcohol can do when mixed with a steering wheel.
They see the driver stumbling, insisting they are “fine,” unaware or unwilling to accept what has happened. They see passengers dazed, bleeding, or worse. And sometimes, they see a family car that will never go home again.
Delivering the News
Few things in policing are as devastating as knocking on a door in the early hours of the morning. Behind that door is a mother, a father, a partner, or a child, and their world is about to collapse. Officers rehearse the words in their heads, trying to make them gentle, trying to make them human. But there is no gentle way to say that someone they love is gone.
The memory of those reactions — the scream, the collapse, the disbelief — stays with officers long after the service log is closed. These moments are not forgotten. They are carried.
The Unseen Victims
Drink-driving collisions do not end at the roadside. The driver is not the only one who must face the consequences. Officers return home after their shift, trying to leave the images behind, trying to sleep. But some scenes do not fade. Some stay buried just beneath the surface.
Many officers will privately admit that Christmas loses some of its shine. The risk, the recklessness, the needless pain — all preventable, all caused by a decision made in seconds.
A Plea From Those Who Know
Police officers do not plead often, but when it comes to drink driving, they do. They have seen the aftermath too many times to remain silent. They know exactly how quickly joy turns to tragedy, how fast lives can be taken, how deeply the regret will cut the driver who chose to drink.
This festive season, remember that the police are not out to spoil anyone’s celebrations. They are out to protect you — from others, and from yourself.
If you are driving, do not drink.
If you have been drinking, do not drive.
No journey is worth the heartbreak an officer may one day have to deliver.
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