THINK! festive drink drive campaign utilises social media to target young men

12.00 | 1 December 2016 |

The 2016 THINK! Christmas drink drive campaign launches today (1 Dec), specifically targeting young males on the back of figures which show they account for almost two thirds (62%) of drink drivers killed on roads across the country. 

The campaign will set out to target young men through Facebook, Twitter and Spotify – with 5.4m British males aged 25-34 years on Facebook alone, the highest single demographic. 

A new advert will be posted on Twitter or Facebook everyday throughout December playing on the concept of FOMO, ‘fear of missing out’. The adverts aim to make it clear to young men that they have plenty to live for the following day, which they may not see if they choose to have a second drink.  

Research carried out for the DfT suggests that 20% of young men have had two or more drinks before driving and an additional 11% say they have considered it – with a third of adults telling researchers they felt it wouldn’t impact on their driving.

However, the DfT points to research from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) which shows a second drink doubles a driver’s chances of being involved in a fatality.

Andrew Jones, road safety minister, said: “Drink driving destroys families and ruins lives, yet some reckless drivers continue to take the risk and get behind the wheel after drinking – particularly young men.

“Deaths from drink driving have fallen significantly over the last 30 years, but it is still responsible for the deaths of five people every week.

“This Christmas we are specifically targeting the biggest perpetrators of this devastating crime – young men, but our message to everyone remains the same: don’t drink and drive.”

The campaign will run on THINK!’s Facebook and Twitter channels from 1st – 31st December, to support drink and drug drive enforcement activity by police forces across the UK.

Chief constable Suzette Davenport, roads policing lead for the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), said: “Police officers on patrols over the Christmas and New Year period will be specifically targeting people driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. We will also be doing roadside testing, so we can make instant arrests. 

"Our message is very simple and very clear – you are breaking the law, you are risking your life and the lives of those around you and the consequences of doing so will plague you for the rest of your life."

Comments

Comment on this story

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close