Taxi safety at Christmas

Taxi safety at Christmas

With Christmas and New Year celebrations here, it is a good time to start thinking about how you might get home from seasonal celebrations.

The party season is upon us - a time of celebration, fun and catching up with family and friends - but, sadly, sometimes the highs can soon turn into lows if the party spirit gets the upper hand. For some people, letting their hair down may lead to a round of binge drinking throughout the festive period.

As well as the health consequences, this can also lead to people losing their inhibitions and taking more risks with their personal safety leaving themselves vulnerable to becoming a victim of violence or sexual offences for example, or making the mistake of drink driving.

Our tips could help prevent your night from ending badly.

Getting there and back

Plan your journey to and from home and if you get a taxi or minicab, make sure it's licensed

Take a photograph of the driver and taxi plate and send it to a loved one BEFORE getting into the vehicle. A legitimate taxi driver won’t mind you doing this, it will give you and your loved ones peace of mind.

Don't travel with a driver who has drunk alcohol or who may be under the influence of drugs

If you're planning to drink alcohol, plan how to get home without driving: options include agreeing on a designated driver, getting details of a licensed taxi firm, or finding out about public transport routes and times

Make sure somebody knows where you are going and what time you will be home

Always carry your bag close to you with the clasp facing inwards. Keep your house keys in your pocket and if someone grabs your bag let it go

Remember to keep hold of your bags and phone in restaurants and pubs

If you think someone is following you, check by crossing the street - more than once if necessary - to see if they follow. If you are still worried, get to the nearest place where there are other people - a pub or anywhere with a lot of lights on and call the police on 101

Consider carefully whether to leave a pub, club or party with somebody you have just met

Don't take short-cuts through dark alleys, parks or across waste ground

Use routes that are well lit, and walk facing the traffic

If you're walking home on a cold night make sure you're dressed to keep warm

While you are out

Make sure that your drink isn't left unattended

If someone offers to buy you a drink, only accept if you know you can trust them

Communal drinks such as punch bowls can easily be spiked. It's not always possible to know what's been mixed into these drinks, so stick to drinks that aren't shared

If you begin to feel drunk after fewer drinks than normal, seek help from a trusted friend or management at the club/pub/licensed premises

When you are out, keep your phone out of sight. If your phone is stolen or lost, call your network to get your phone blocked

Think before you offer an alcoholic drink to someone you know is planning to drive; you can help reduce the number of people who are killed and injured every year by drink driving

Beware the morning after: you could still be over the limit the day after drinking. Sleep, coffee and cold showers don't help you to sober up - time is the only way to get alcohol out of your system.

There is no excuse for drink driving: alcohol affects everybody's driving for the worse. It creates a feeling of overconfidence, makes judging speed and distance more difficult, and slows your reactions so that it takes longer to stop.

'Only going down the road' is not an excuse: a large proportion of all drink drive crashes occur within three miles of the start of the journey.

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Message Sent By
Stuart Taylor
(West Mercia, PCSO, Hagley & Rubery)