Campaign aims to kick drink and drug driving into touch

Community safety organisations across Berkshire are teaming up to draw attention to the fatal risks of drink and drug driving as the 2015 Rugby World Cup gets underway.

As fans gather to enjoy the tournament there is the potential for risks to increase through both drivers and pedestrians impaired by alcohol or drugs.

The Blazed and Wasted campaign will encourage fans to plan their travel and ensure that every match night ends well, whatever the score.

From England’s opening match this evening (18 Sept) until the team’s final pool game on 10 October, organisations are joining forces across the county to run a series of events to highlight the risks of mixing alcohol with driving.

Free non-alcoholic shots will be served to people attending the events, which will also include the ‘World Class Pass’ rugby competition and large digital screens running a film about risks of drink and drug driving.  

The campaign, designed by Safer Roads Berkshire, is intended to raise awareness of the consequences of drink or drug driving both in terms of the likelihood of being involved in a collision and of being caught by the police. It includes a new video that uses an innovative parallax approach to highlight risk of drug driving, and holographic postcards.

The campaign is targeted at drivers under the age of 24 years who, according to Safer Roads Berkshire, are 54% more likely than average to be impaired by alcohol, with young men nearly 20% more likely than women. The group also points out that crashes involving impaired drivers tend to be much more serious, and more than twice as likely to result in someone being killed.

Dan Campsall, communications director for Safer Roads Berkshire, said: “Driving under the influence of drink or drugs is still a problem on our roads resulting in over 100 crashes a year in Berkshire.

“It is also an issue which disproportionately affects younger drivers; though there are many motorists who are not aware of how long alcohol takes to leave your system.

“If you have a late night enjoying a few drinks you may well still be over the legal limit in the morning and unaware of the risks you are taking with your own life and that of others.”