Organisation: Department for Transport
Date uploaded: 15th July 2010
Date published/launched: August 2009
Summer 2009 saw the first major drug drive campaign, giving the issue greater prominence and making it clear that driving while impaired through drugs is an offence.
Long running campaigns have established a general consensus that drink driving is socially unacceptable and dangerous, and the general public see drug driving in the same way; but despite this our research shows that drug users are not deterred from driving.
Awareness of impairment through prescription and over the counter medicines has also been tackled via partnership marketing activity with a leading national pharmacist.
Our initial qualitative research in April 2009, looking at potential message territories, confirmed that users of illegal drugs are ambivalent about the potential effects on their driving. They deny that their driving is impaired, they discount the chances of getting caught and therefore do not take into account the serious consequences either of a crash or a conviction. Most are unaware that drug driving is an offence in its own right and that the police are able to detect them.
Our research identified a target audience of people in their twenties and thirties who hold down regular jobs and have active social lives. These people take a variety of recreational drugs on a regular basis. Drug driving is commonplace amongst friendship groups and can be on either spontaneous or planned occasions.
The aim of the advertising campaign was two-fold;
• To generate awareness among the wider public that drug driving is an issue in its own right and to help build social stigma.
• To speak directly with those at risk, dispelling the myths around impairment and enforcement.
We aimed to raise general awareness of drug driving as an issue through mass reach media with TV, online search and a dedicated website being used to communicate the facts around the law and its consequences.
To target the most at risk audience, we focussed on the drug driving ‘journey’ for 18-35 friendship groups and encouraged group reappraisal of their actions by taking advantage of media channels used during the planning, checking, consumption and reflection points. This allowed us to demonstrate the consequences of drug driving at times when they are likely to be together. Selected channels included:
• Online display on social networking and club entertainment/music sites
• Media sponsorship: Kiss radio evening shows including on-air credits, trails, live DJ reads, promotional activity and an online presence. THINK! was an NME festival partner (alongside Blackberry) and included a double page and a single page advertorial and sponsorship of NME radio festival bulletins, reads and an online presence.
• Summer festivals: ‘V’ festivals (Essex and Staffordshire: 22-23 August) and ‘Creamfields’ (Cheshire: 29-30 August).
• In-game advertising
• Bar and club posters
Partnership marketing activity emphasised the importance of taking prescription drugs and medicines and over-the-counter preparations as directed, while highlighting that some can have an adverse effect on the skills needed to drive safely. The best way for patients to find out if they are safe to drive is to ask for advice from a doctor, healthcare professional or pharmacist.
After the campaign, the proportion of all adults agreeing that the police can identify a drug driver, if stopped, increased from 68% to 75%. The number of people agreeing with the statement, ‘The government is taking this issue seriously’ rose from 47% to 64%. Spontaneous awareness of drug driving carrying the same consequences as drink driving also increased from 10% to 18%.
For more information contact:
Jonathan Mogford
T: 020 7944 4338