Lollipops carrying the message ‘Never let a friend walk home drunk’ are being distributed at nightclubs across the County Mayo region in Ireland during the festive period.
The campaign is targeting younger (17-24) and older (50+) male pedestrians who believe they can drink and then walk home safely, but in reality are at risk. The campaign is attempting to get them to realise the danger they’re putting themselves in, by explaining that two thirds of pedestrians killed on Irish roads had consumed alcohol. Ideally Mayo’s road safety team wants people to sort out their lift home before heading out to go drinking.
Noel Gibbons, Mayo’s road safety officer, says that similar ‘lollipop’ campaigns outside bars in other countries have resulted in a decrease in rowdy activity, and an increase in calming energy and awareness of the message on the lollipop.
According to Mayo, two thirds of pedestrians killed on Irish roads for which BAC level information is available had consumed alcohol, and of these half were three times over the legal driving limit.
And in a survey conducted for the Road Safety Authority in Ireland in 2009, 21% of respondents said they had consumed five or more alcoholic drinks and then walked home.
Noel Gibbons said: “This campaign is about protecting each and every person who uses the roads so that we can all have a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.”
For more information contact Noel Gibbons on 08778 70055.
Road Safety Russia has used lollipops to prevent crashes too. We used them during campaign “No rush” (http://rsrussia.org/campaigns/no_rush-12/) in 2012. This project was about preventing exceeding the speed-limits in Russia.
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