DfT launches ‘humorous’ drinking drive campaign

The financial costs of drink driving forms the basis of a £280,000 advertising campaign launched last month by the DfT. The campaign uses humorous radio adverts to highlight the practical implications of a drink-drive conviction.

The commercials highlight the high level of fines (up to £5000), the increase in motor insurance premiums (by up to 3 times) and the job uncertainty faced by people whose work is reliant on holding a licence.

In addition to the radio ads, two million beer mats that are being distributed to pubs across the country. The beer mats are branded with the Think! road safety logo and the messages in the radio campaign.

"Beyond the emotional and human costs of drink-driving, there are major implications for all motorists who drink and drive and we want people to think about these implications," road safety minister, David Jamieson said at the campaign launch. "Drink-driving causes the unnecessary deaths of about 500 people every year and injures over 17,500. But it also hits the pockets of many more through steep fines, large increases in insurance costs, and major professional headaches for the many people who rely on having a driving licence for their jobs."

The Campaign against Drink-Driving welcomed this new approach by the DfT. "Using humour in these adverts in no way undermines the seriousness of drink-driving, nor the emotional distress its consequences cause," said the charity’s spokesperson Jane Evason. "It is a good way of getting the message across to people who have ignored the dangers of drink-driving in the past."

Audio copies of the radio adverts are available by visiting www.think.dft.gov.uk