December 13, 1999. Copyright, 1999, Graphic News. All rights reserved.

DRINK-DRIVE DEATH CAMPAIGN

LONDON, December 13, Graphic News: HARD-HITTING television, poster and radio advertisements featuring drink-drivers Ð all of whom have killed and are in prison Ð giving harrowing accounts of how it has affected their lives, are featured in a £2.6 million Government campaign to cut drink-related road deaths during Christmas and the millennium celebrations.

The 1999 campaign is specifically targeting 17 to 24-year-olds, and is based on the sobering drink-drive slogan: ÒIt can ruin your life and someone elseÕs.Ó

Filmed in prison, three men speak of their shock, horror and remorse about what they did.

One admits: ÒA few beers with your friends Ð bang! Seeing the head coming through the windscreen again. Vividly, like itÕs there today, now.

ÒThe fact that I am the cause of it, I canÕt take that back. But it doesn't change the fact that IÕve become a killer.Ó

Another man says: ÒThere was no intent. It was never meant to happen Ð but yes, I killed somebody.

ÒI was driving home in the morning when I thought I was okay, but obviously I wasnÕt.

ÒI left a husband and children without a mother and a wife. And IÕve got to live with that for the rest of my life.Ó 

Another says he had no intention of killing anybody but agrees that Òit doesnÕt change the fact that IÕve become a killer.Ó

Millions of leaflets and posters will be distributed, with drivers being urged to plan ahead on how to get home after a night out. The campaign material also outlines exactly what the penalties are for drink-driving, the maximum being 10 years in jail and at least a two-year ban if convicted of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs.

Previous drink-driving campaigns have proved successful and drink-driving has dropped dramatically over the past ten years.

There were 790 drink-drive fatalities in 1988, compared with 460 in 1998 Ð the lowest level since records began. In 1979, when national statistics were first compiled, the toll was 1,643.

Some breweries are advocating Òdesignated drivingÓ schemes Ð encouraging one driver to volunteer to stay sober and drive friends home Ð as the most responsible way to enjoy a night out, and are giving free non-alcoholic drinks. Others are making customers aware of the wide range of soft drinks, waters, low and no-alcohol beers, teas and coffees that a pub can offer a driver. 

The UK has a better track record on drink-driving than almost all our European Union partners, including those with lower limits such as Sweden and Germany.

However, Mr Paul Manning, chairman of the traffic committee of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said: ÒDrink-drive enforcement operates 24 hours a day and motorists should be aware there is a danger they could still be over the legal limit the morning after a heavy drinking session.Ó

He warned that drivers involved in collisions would be routinely breathalysed Ð even if the motorist concerned regarded himself as the innocent party in the accident.



/ENDS

Sources: Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, Reuters