Drinkaware calls on pubs to encourage drivers to avoid alcohol

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Stay safe: pubs can receive free point-of-sale materials from Drinkaware to promote safe driving

Pub operators have been asked to help encourage designated drivers to abstain from alcohol completely when at the pub.

Drinkaware’s new campaign Home and Dry offers point-of-sale materials to pubs so they can encourage customers to try alternatives to alcohol if they are driving.

The free materials include coasters, T-shirts for pub staff, bar runners and beer mats. Operators can also download digital assets for use on social media or any screens inside their venue.

Drinkaware director of business development, partnership and public affairs Adam Jones told The Morning Advertiser the charity would encourage pubs to look at their no-alcohol options.

Jones said: “Across the alcohol industry, low-and-no alcohol is a massive area of growth. That’s something that everybody is interested in.

“Developing a good range of no-alcohol alternatives is a really good offer to the customer. It’s also a really good offer to those who are coming to a pub and who are driving as well.”

Visual hints

He continued: “If you look at the stats, there’s still a massive issue there – a lot of fatalities every year, a lot of accidents.”

The Department of Transport has made a provisional estimate that between 220 and 270 people were killed in accidents in Great Britain involving at least one driver being over the drinking limit in 2018.

Jones continued: “Sometimes, in a pub, they are absolutely in a position where they can step in and save someone but quite often it’s good just to have that message there.

“It’s good to have the options there and to have visual hints and nudges there. That’s a good way for pubs to address the issue, this is a real asset and help.”

The campaign has been backed by the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) and the Department for Transport’s Think! initiative.