ALTHOUGH attitudes to drink driving have changed dramatically since the first public information film 50 years ago, hundreds of motorists in Avon and Somerset are still getting caught over the limit every year.
Research shows that 92% of people in the South-West agree drink driving is unacceptable, while 93% would feel ashamed if they were convicted of the offence.
That compares to figures from 1979, when two-thirds of young men admitted drink driving on a weekly basis.
The shift in attitudes is a stark contrast to the first drink drive public information film in 1964, which was set in an office Christmas party and reminded people that “four single whiskeys and the risk of accident can be twice as great ... if he’s been drinking, don’t let him drive”.
However, 1,572 people in Avon and Somerset were convicted of driving after consuming alcohol or taking drugs in 2012 while there were 30 deaths due to drink driving in the South-West in the same year.
An advert launched last week reminds people that one death on our roads is too many.
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