Here is the pre-watershed version:

Road Safety Minister Paul Clark said, “If you are involved in an accident while not wearing a seat belt then your body experiences a series of three collisions damaging vital internal organs.  This campaign reminds drivers that – no matter how short their journey or how slowly they are driving – they are risking their life if they set off without putting their seat belt on.

“I hope this campaign will help everyone realise that they need to belt up every time they get in a car.”

With recent research showing that drivers are less likely to belt up on low speed, short journeys on familiar roads, the £1.3 million THINK! Campaign hopes to show that drivers are still risking their lives.  Drivers are twice as likely to die in a crash if they do not wear a seat belt and if everyone belted up, one life a day could be saved.

The full advert can only be aired after 9pm due to its graphic content.

The television advert warns motorists that police can spot the involuntary signs of someone being under the influence of drugs if they are stopped. These signs include severely dilated or constricted pupils.  The advert shows a car carrying several young people with their eyes enlarged, adding: “Your eyes will give you away.”

Young men aged between 17 and 29 are thought to be most likely to drive while on illegal drugs.  Indeed, a recent survey in Scotland suggested that 81% of clubbers have driven whilst under the influence of illegal drugs.

The Department for Transport (DfT) estimates that as many as one in five drivers or motorcyclists killed in road accidents may have an impairing drug (legal or illegal) in their system.   Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said in a recent interview, “Whatever one’s views on drug taking, we’ve got to make it absolutely socially unacceptable to drive while under the influence of drugs, because it can kill.”

Police currently use a Field Impairment Test (FIT), which can include asking the driver to close their eyes and estimate when 30 seconds have passed.  Drugs impair the body’s internal clock so drug users tend to be very inaccurate.  Other tests include standing on one leg, touching your nose with the tip of your finger and walking heel-to-toe whilst counting the steps out loud.

Police officers can take a suspect to a police station to perform blood and urine tests to confirm their suspicions.

France and Germany have a zero tolerance approach to driving and drugs – driving does not have to be impaired, simply having illegal drugs in one’s system when driving is an offence.  Roadside saliva tests are used to check for the presence of drugs.

Brake, the Road safety charity, has welcomed the £2.3m campaign but has called on ministers to approve a breathalyser-style drug-testing device.   However, there is not yet a roadside testing device that can detect the wide range of drugs that drivers may have taken.  Cathy Keeler, deputy chief executive of Brake said, “The government has been dragging its heels on approving a roadside testing device even though police in countries like Germany are already using saliva wipes to catch lots of drug drivers.

“There are already some devices out there that can identify some of the most common drugs people take and there’s really no reason for the government to wait for some perfect device to detect all of them.”

Anyone caught drug-driving currently faces the same fate as those caught drink-driving: a minimum one year driving ban, up to six months in prison and a £5,000 fine.

Examples of the effects various illegal drugs can have include:

Cannabis - distorts a driver’s perception of time and distance so other vehicles seem closer than they really are.  Cannabis users often struggle to do two things at once, like changing gear and steering.

Cocaine - causes feelings of over-confidence which leads to aggressive, risky driving at high speeds.

Amphetamines (e.g. speed) – impair coordination and make drivers less likely to react to potential hazards.

Ecstasy - causes blurred vision and poor judgement.  Use may also lead to extreme anxiety and paranoia.

The television advert released last week focuses on illegal drugs, but other aspects of the campaign in print and on the internet will also address the issues surrounding legal prescription drugs, which can also be very dangerous when driving.  The rule with these is to ‘always read the label or ask a doctor or pharmacist’.  At this time of year, antihistamines used in hay fever remedies often cause drowsiness and reduce reaction times.  Anti-depressants and tranquillisers are also potentially risky.  Some ‘over the counter’ remedies such as those for colds an flu can also have unwanted effects.

Viewers of the campaign have given a mixed response – these are just two examples found on the BBC forums:

“Once again more money wasted attempting to prevent the impossible. Most accidents are caused by people not paying attention to what they are doing, or worse, not caring what they are doing. DD of both kinds (Drunk and Drugs) cause a small percentage of the 3000 deaths a year on the roads in this country.

To decide whether or not nick someone based on pupil dilation is ridiculous!!”

“Drink and drugs are clearly not good starting points for anyone driving. But if the object is to save lives on the road surely we should be improving the standards of driving among those that cause between 80 and 90% of the accidents. Which is to say the drug and drink free majority.”

The Department for Transport noted that using a mobile phone at the wheel is considered the second most unacceptable driving behaviour among motorists with 93% agreeing that texting while driving is dangerous. However, 12% of all motorists admit to texting while driving.

Whilst online this morning, I came across this unbelivable video from CNN, showing a bus driver, driving disabled passengers in Texas, crashing into stationary traffic whilst texting:

The new radio campaign features a driver’s voice spelling out a text message followed by the harrowing sound of a car crash.  Click here to listen to it.

An online ‘driving challenge’ game is also available, which demonstrates how using a mobile at the wheel can completely distract the driver.  Try it out for yourself!

In addition, a THINK! TV advert will be returning to remind callers to ‘kill the conversation’ as soon as they realise that someone is driving.

Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: “It doesn’t matter how good a driver you are, if you text while driving then you cannot be giving the road your full attention.

“The message that mobile phones and driving should not mix is getting through to the majority of drivers but some people are still needlessly risking their own lives and putting others in danger for the sake of a text or a call.

“Our message to all drivers is simple: Don’t use your mobile phone when you’re driving.”

Road Safety Consultation

Following the recent publication of the results of the DSA’s Learning to Drive Consultation comes the Government’s latest document seeking views on the vision, targets and measures for improving road safety in Great Britain beyond 2010.

“Making Britain’s Roads Safer” is the title of the consultation document, and we would urge you all to get involved and make your opinions known.  The full document and related research articles can be found here.  The closing date for this consultation is 14th July 2009.

The key challenges for the new strategy are as follows:

• reducing the number of road deaths, which have fallen at a slower rate than serious injuries;
• pedestrian and cyclist casualties in our towns and cities – particularly in deprived communities;

• protecting children, particularly in deprived areas, and young people, who are greatly over-represented in the casualty statistics;
• protecting motorcyclists, who represent 20% of road fatalities but just 1% of traffic;
• safety on rural roads: 62% of all road fatalities in 2007 occurred on rural roads, which carry only 42% of traffic;
• variations in safety from area to area and road to road;
• poor road user behaviour amongst a minority, where drink-driving and failure to wear a seatbelt remain a problem;
• illegal and inappropriate speed: excessive speed was recorded as a contributory factor in 26% of road fatalities in 2007.

The Government is on target with their aim to reduce the number of road casualties on the UK’s roads by 40% (from the average of those from 1994-1998), but with nearly 3000 people still dying on the roads each year, they are looking to improve our road safety record even further.

In order to achieve this, the Government is looking at the following:

• Changes to road safety enforcement, including improvements to the enforcement of speed and drink and drug driving laws.
• Gaining a better understanding of the motivations behind the behaviours of the most dangerous road users, and the characteristics of the individuals undertaking them.
• Working more closely with other organisations to improve road design, vehicles and education in order to reduce the chance of mistakes on the roads having serious or fatal consequences.
• Improving the safety of rural roads, where 60% of all road deaths occur – this will probably include the reduction of the speed limit on the most dangerous roads from 60mph to 50mph.
• Improving the safety in urban areas where pedestrian and cyclist deaths are concentrated – this is most likely to be dealt with by reducing the speed limit to 20mph in residential areas (which are not part of a through route) and around areas like schools and markets where pedestrian and cyclist movements are highest.
• Improving vehicle safety by looking at the effectiveness of existing vehicle technology and the development of advanced crash avoidance systems.
• As well as promoting European vehicle safety regulations, the DfT aims to look at ways of providing better consumer information and raising awareness among the motoring public.
• Support responsible road use – this may be achieved by the introduction of Think! campaigns challenging complacency about road safety and encouraging people to make positive safety choices, as well as further education in nurseries, schools and colleges (including the introduction of the pre-driver qualification)
• Tackling irresponsible behaviour (e.g. drink driving, drug driving, failure to wear a seatbelt and careless or dangerous driving)
• Continuing pursuit and seizure of untaxed and uninsured vehicles and of the vehicles of unlicenced drivers.

The following targets have therefore been proposed:

• to reduce road deaths by at least 33% by 2020 compared to the baseline of the 2004-08 average number of road deaths;

• to reduce the annual total of serious injuries on our roads by 2020 by at least 33% compared to the baseline.

The Government also considers it important to maintain their progress on child road safety and to tackle the pressing problem of young people’s safety, and therefore propose a more challenging target for children and young people:

• to reduce the annual total of road deaths and serious injuries to children and young people (aged 0-17) by at least 50% against a baseline of the 2004-08 average by 2020

In order to improve health, the environment and congestion, the Government is also keen to encourage more walking and cycling.  They wish to reduce the risk to the individual walker or cyclist, and to take into account expected growth in activity – they are therefore proposing a target based on the rate of casualties:

• to reduce by at least 50% by 2020 the rate of KSI per km travelled by pedestrians and cyclists, compared with the 2004-08 average.

The views received in response to the proposals put forward will influence the final shape of the Department’s next road safety strategy, which is due to be published at the end of the year.