Taxi gets right message to right people

‘You drink – I drive’. This is the message one Norwich taxi driver is getting across to revellers enjoying a drink in the city during 2004.

Norfolk County Council Road Safety Unit has purchased the advertising space on the Black Cab as part of its ongoing commitment to casualty reduction. The taxi features the slogan in reflective lettering on one side of the vehicle with other road safety messages on the other side and bonnet.

But the advertising doesn’t stop there. Office workers looking down on the taxi from above will see a pint of beer and car keys with a red cross running through them on the vehicle’s roof. A positive reinforcement message also greets passengers as they enter the vehicle.

The Road Safety Unit’s total investment is £1700, which covers the media space and graphics. "The advertising contract is for one year so for a little over £3 a day we have a message that is reaching a vast number of people," Stuart Hallett, Norfolk’s county road safety officer explains. "The cab is in use predominantly during the early evening and early hours of the morning in the ‘club’ area of the city, so we think we are reaching the right people with the right message."

The taxi launch attracted media attention and featured on local radio and in regional press.

While national drink-driving figures show an increase in the rate of motorists failing breath tests, police in Norfolk arrested 53 people during the Christmas 2003 drink-drive campaign – three fewer than the previous year.

stuart.hallett@norfolk.gov.uk