The most recent Operation Vega statistics indicate that between January and May pf this year, there were 117 arrests for impaired driving. For the same period in 2022, there were 71 such arrests.

To say that these numbers are concerning would be an understatement. Remember, every time you operate a vehicle while impaired, there is the potential to cause significant damage, life-altering injury — or death.

While the Bermuda Police Service have stepped up patrols as part of Operation Vega, police presence alone cannot prevent drinking and driving. Roadside sobriety checkpoints are advertised days in advance of them being implemented, yet individuals are still arrested for impaired driving during these exercises.

This is a “Bermuda” problem that requires more than enforcement to fix. We as a country must look at the drinking culture that alcohol consumption is a prerequisite for having a good time at social gatherings, be they dinner parties, a session or fête.

That, coupled with the realisation that we must accept individual responsibility for our actions. It may be cliché, but if you plan to drink to have a good time, then you must plan to get home without operating a vehicle on the road.

The BPS do not wish to prevent you having a good time; all we ask is that you consider your actions and those of family and friends around you to ensure you all get safely home at the end of the day.

While the life you save may be your own, are you prepared to live with having taken the life of another person because you decided to drive drunk, buzzed or high?

• Martin Weekes is the Assistant Commissioner of Police