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Paralympic Champ Simon Richardson says drink-drivers should be named and shamed

Athlete seriously injured by drunk driver speaks at launch of Welsh anti drink-driving campaign

Former Paralympic cycling champion Simon Richardson, whose dreams of competing at London 2012 when he was seriously injured while training by a van driven by a man who had been drinking, has said that drink-drivers should be named and shamed.

Richardson, still confined to a wheelchair as he makes a very slow recovery from the incident in August last year that left him in a coma and with multiple injuries, was speaking at the launch in Cardiff yesterday of the All Wales Anti Drink/Drug Driving Campaign as the festive season approaches.

Farmer Edward Adams, who had initially fled the scene, told police after his arrest that he had begun drinking whisky at 6am on the day in question. Following his trial at Cardiff Crown Court earlier this year, in which the prosecution also established that Adams had detective vision, he was jailed for 18 months.

“I always believe drink-drivers should be named and shamed and their pictures should be on the backs of buses,” said Richardson, quoted on BBC Wales.

He added that while he did not think people who had been drinking deliberately set out to cause an incident, he did maintain that prevention was possible, citing the instance of someone who gets behind the wheel the morning after a heavy night.

"You're still drunk the next day,” he said, adding that “just by leaving it that extra couple of hours” could make the difference. "A drink-driver can always stop what they are doing.”

The campaign is being led by South Wales Police on behalf of all four of the police forces in Wales.

Assistant Chief Constable Richard Lewis commented:
“Our message to drivers is that the smallest amount of alcohol affects your ability to drive safely, so the only safe option is to not drink at all. 



“It is also important to remember that a drink you enjoy in the evening can leave you over the limit when driving your car the next morning as alcohol stays in the system for many hours after you stop drinking.



“We urge the public to contact the police if they are aware of anyone drinking and driving. That phone call could save a life this Christmas.”

As part of the initiative, officers across Wales will be conducing spot checks on motorists in high-profile locations, as well as gathering intelligence that they hope will lead to offenders being caught.

Susan Storch, chair of Road Safety Wale, added: "My advice is that if you're expecting to drink alcohol during the Christmas holiday, plan how to get home without driving.

“Don't offer an alcoholic drink to someone you know is planning to drive and don’t accept a lift from a driver you know has drunk alcohol."

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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5 comments

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davidtcycle | 11 years ago
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If their not a self serving idiot then what are they? A poor little lost soul we must feel sorry for while they ruin someone else's life like they ruined their own?
Grow up prat.

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WolfieSmith | 11 years ago
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Hi Simon. Typo. Surely not 'detective' vision. Although Colombo actor Peter Falk did have a glass eye....  39

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localsurfer | 11 years ago
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They usually are - most local papers report this kind of thing, and there's always a 'courts' page.

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hoski | 11 years ago
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All drink drivers?

I'm sure some people who drink drive are probably quite vulnerable, i.e. alcoholics, under all sorts of pressure, suffering mental health problems, etc. Should we just slap their names and faces up in public?

It doesn't justify drink driving, but not everyone who does it is necessarily just a self-serving idiot.

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zanf replied to hoski | 11 years ago
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hoski wrote:

All drink drivers?

I'm sure some people who drink drive are probably quite vulnerable, i.e. alcoholics, under all sorts of pressure, suffering mental health problems, etc. Should we just slap their names and faces up in public?

It doesn't justify drink driving, but not everyone who does it is necessarily just a self-serving idiot.

Why are you being an apologist for drink drivers? If someone is an alcoholic then they shouldn't be driving full stop. Drinking because you're under pressure? Don't people use also that as an excuse for things like shoplifting, downloading child porn as well as a plethora of other 'indiscretions'?

If someone is suffering mental health issues, self medicating with alcohol is not going to help one bit and if they get in a car as well....

It should be that everyone in this country knows that if you have been drinking and you get into a car, you will bear full responsibility for it if you are convicted of being over the limit.

One of the only ways for it to become socially unacceptable is for those convicted, no matter what mitigating circumstances, are named and shamed.

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