Des drives ahead on World Health Day

The designated non-drinking driver campaign, ‘I’ll be DES’, which is run by The Portman Group, will be participating in World Health Day on Wednesday 7 April. The World Health Organisation is calling for international action to drive down the increasing number of road traffic injuries worldwide.

Each year road traffic incidents take the lives of around 1.2m men, women and children around the world and millions more are injured - with estimated costs of between one and two per cent of GNP annually in low and middle-income countries.

"Road safety is no accident and World Health Day is a timely opportunity for everyone to think about this important issue whether they are a pedestrian, passenger or driver," said Portman Group chief executive Jean Coussins. "Our message to all drivers – young and old – is that getting behind the wheel when they’ve had a drink is always a bad idea, and can ultimately be very dangerous, if not deadly."

Now in its fifth year, DES urges people who are going out and want to use the car to make sure they designate a non-drinking driver to get everyone home safely. DES resource materials include a licensee pack and a road safety officer bag comprising keyfobs, badges, t-shirts and posters.

In a recent RAC survey seven out of ten young adults said they had never driven after drinking. But the other 30 per cent who admitted getting behind the wheel after a drink came up with familiar excuses including ‘I’ve only had a couple – I’m fine to drive’, ‘Everyone does it’ and ‘I won’t get stopped’.

For further information about DES contact Jim Minton on 020 7907 3700.