A video to highlight procedures at roadside breath test checkpoints has been released.

The film shows what happens at checkpoints to both sober and over-the-limit drivers.

Zane DeSilva, the transport minister, said the video would be shown at the Transport Control Department in Pembroke, on government TV channel CITV and on social media.

The video features Bermuda scenery and real-life residents as actors in the dramatisation.

Mr DeSilva said: “Education surrounding roadside sobriety checkpoints is very important, especially as we enter the holiday season.”

He told the public: “If you intend to consume alcohol, do so responsibly. Have a strategy to get home without driving while impaired. Plan ahead this holiday before you drink.”

Mr DeSilva said people appeared to be more careful about drinking and driving since the introduction of roadside tests.

He added: “What I have found is that, in the circles I move in, people are aware and they are starting to think about it a hell of a lot more than they have in the past.

“I think people are adjusting and thinking about it. Those who are going to consume more, they need to make sure they have someone in their company that will drive.”

Mr DeSilva also highlighted the introduction of the designated driver buttons earlier this month as a means of encouraging people to get home safely.

Chief Inspector Robert Cardwell of the Bermuda Police Service said that 61 drivers had been arrested at checkpoints for drink-driving since they were launched on September 23.

He added: “Each one of those drivers will receive a hefty fine and a disqualification period.

“Our Roads Policing Unit considers these 61 arrests to be lives saved in our mission to create safer roads and save lives.”

Mr Cardwell said the checkpoints were designed to cut down on the number of drink- drivers, rather than catch them in the act.

He added: “We hope we act as a deterrent to not take the chance to consume alcohol and then drive.”

Mr Cardwell said the checkpoints would be in place across the island during the holiday period.

He added: “We all need to be committed to get through the Christmas period without a further loss of life or serious injuries on the road.”