About the Pedestrian 08 Campaign

01/10/2009

The Pedestrian 08 Campaign exists to promote the rapid adoption of scientifically based, maximum blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for those other road users – Pedestrians. In the media, this has been called The Drink Walking Campaign.
We need this limit imposed and enforced to:

  1. Prevent pedestrian accidents, injuries and deaths
  2. Eliminate alcohol related violence.
  3. Reduce binge drinking.

1. Pedestrian safety

Research into Pedestrian safety demonstrates a clear need to adopt a Pedestrian 08 Limit.
What is the maximum acceptable blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for a pedestrian?

‘Research indicates that the skills necessary to cross a road safely are impaired at BAC levels of .08 and above.’

For your own safety, if you are not driving, stay under a BAC of 08. Read the rest of this entry…

2. Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence

Glassing Attack

88,000 'Glassings' occur every year in the UK

Research proves that at a BAC of 08 and above you are more likely to become engaged in acts of alcohol related violence.

Alcohol is a psychoactive drug. It can act as a disinhibitor. You are more likely to throw a punch or kick someone to death at or above a BAC of 08 than below it.

For your own safety and the safety of others always stay under a BAC of 08. Read the rest of this entry…

 

3. Binge drinking

The research is clear. Do not drink until the age of 23. Your brain is still developing and can be hindered or impaired by alcohol consumption.
Alcohol consumption by children is killing them via brain and liver damage, falls, traffic and other pedestrian accidents.
Children as young as eight years old are regularly being treated in casualty departments.

8_Yr_Old_1

Parents, sporting clubs and organisations, alcohol advertisers, sporting programs, all night beer barns, Big Liquor, Big Liquor’s ‘alcopops’, ‘alcohol-normalising’ TV and Radio programs and broadcasters, politicians and governments are all to blame for the burgeoning binge drinking culture.

Binge drinking is dangerous to your health and the health and well being of others. Find out what binge drinking actually is via these pages and the links to other sites. Show some character, avoid it all costs – it leads to alcoholism, cancer and accidental and violent deaths. Read the rest of this entry…

A Cultural Problem

With a greatly expanding phenomenon of binge drinking at its core, we have a rapidly developing and destructive cultural problem to contend with.

The ‘silo mindset’ of many government departments make for narrowly based policy decisions with little coordination and a multitude of interests to deal with. A whole-of-government response is needed with a publicly declared primary motivation that human life – especially those of children – is the government’s top priority.

A massive whole-of-government policy option is to set a pedestrian BAC limit of 08. It will change behaviour, reducing violence, injury and death. It will work and if lessons of our motorist’s 05 campaign are taken on board, it will work immediately and with dramatic immediate effects.

Governments have a clear duty of care to do this and do it now.

Sporting organisations can assist by publicly and openly contracting their players and staff to play and work under 08.

As an individual you can help by never forgetting where responsible drinking ends – at 08 – and by resolving to always stay under 08.

A Culture Busting Solution

  1. Responsible drinking will be given a research derived and easily understood and easily communicated BAC. ‘Responsible drinking ends at .08′ is just so easy to express – isn’t it?
  2. A massive education campaign explaining the very real dangers of alcohol and the linkage between binge drinking and most alcohol related harms, will precede implementation of the campaign. Everyone will know what’s coming, what to do and how to react.
  3. Online and I-Phone Calculators are available now to help users understand pedestrian 08 limits of Responsible Drinking as well as lower BAC levels that may pertain to your activity.
  4. In Public Bar and other Liquor Venue BAC Testers will aid both overall restraint in consumption and give a reinforcement of expected BAC levels. No venue dispensing this drug ought to be licensed to do so without providing their patrons with a safe, reliable, accurate and well serviced BAC testing machines. It is simply not responsible for any government, anywhere, to allow such a situation to continue.
  5. Costing about 10% of the total program, random breath testing of selected areas will reinforce the Responsible Drinking message, increase the personal safety of public transport commuters, entertainment district patrons and limit the number of underage drinkers. The Pedestrian 08 Campaign seeks to return basic civil liberties so often denied to the victims of binge drinking.

With a Pedestrian 08 program in place you will regain safe access to whole neighbourhoods and entertainment districts.

You will regain access to dangerous and often deadly public transport.

You will regain ready access to hospital and emergency medical treatment and ambulance coverage.

Many, many lives will be saved in the short and long term.

It could be you or someone you love.

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Media Inquiries: ph 0404170105

2 Comments | The-Pedestrian-08-Campaign, Uncategorized | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08

1.1 million people random breath tested in 50 days

12/01/2012

The efficiency and effectiveness of random breath testing cannot be doubted.
As part of its summer routine, Victoria Police via their vaunted Booze Bus Teams took control of our roads, barely inconvenienced a safe driver, and RBT’d an astonishing 1.1 million drivers over a 50 day period.
The Melbourne Herald Sun reports this operation – Operation Summer Stay – put 2610 over the limit drivers – off the road. They lost their licenses.
How effective is random breath testing as a societal wide, behaviour changing program?
This is the quote that reveals the answer:

Mr Walshe said the drink-driving test rate of one positive per 432 motorists was poor, but an improvement on one in 332 last year.

This means that VicPol had to test 432 motorists to find and remove 1 drunk from the road.
Last year, they had to test 332, to find and remove their one drunk.
This number, by and large, keeps improving.
DUI drivers are being removed from our roads.
We need to keep up this good work and extend the same model of enforcement and behaviour change to our streets. To our entertainment (drinking) districts employing pedestrian random breath testing.
The model is proven! Beyond doubt.
Meanwhile, this humble site, made the big time in the US, featuring on reddit.com, the social media site, upon which a group called “crippling alcoholism” has been created.
This is the discussion.
Warning, the site link above contains a four letter word.
A lot of obviously distressed and unwell people on this site…
I did my best to engage, prior to being – politely – banned from the group.
I don’t wonder why!
And thanks to producers and Louise Saunders of the ABC Hobart for the spot this morning on the discussion surrounding drunk driving / dui.
It seems that the idea of mandatory RBT machines in all pubs, thus enabling fewer surprises, better education via the audio visual education facilities these machines can bring, and of course, a totally unambiguous, easy to understand, maximum pedestrian BAC Limit, went down well with the listening public.

Mike

Leave a Comment » | ABC, alcohol, Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Binge drinking, drink-walking, Mike Cockburn, pedestrian-08-limit, The-Pedestrian-08-Campaign | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08

Irresponsible Parents prove need for Pedestrian RBT, Fines, Education and Behaviour Change

02/11/2011



Seven out of 10 under-age drinkers caught in the Cornish holiday resort of Newquay were given alcohol by their parents…

BBC Cornwall reports the above, and more:

Most of the teenagers caught drunk and disorderly said they were sent to Cornwall with alcohol [from Parents]…
…although some parents were shocked about their children’s behaviour, others verbally abused officers who confiscated the alcohol…
…one officer was verbally abused by a parent who accused him of stopping her son “having fun”. The teenager was one of four 16-year-olds caught with 64 cans of Special Brew.

The campaign ‘Newquay Safe Partnership’ was formed in 2009 after two teenagers were found at bottom of cliffs in two separate incidents.

There is little doubt that a great percentage of Great Britain’s parents are either unwilling, unable or just too ignorant to responsibly guide their children through the alcohol wars of teenage years.

The Police effort here, is focused on Drunk and Disorderly Offenses.
Is this leaving a problem until it is too late?
Do police have a viable mechanism for the wholesale population wide detection of underage drinking?
Do they consider this, their role as a law and order body?

Where parents fail, the State ‘Nanny’ has to take over.
Pedestrian Random Breath Testing (P-RBT), that includes public transport, allied to heavy fines and heavily publicised educational messages offers the most hope for:

  • Identifying the largest cohort of offenders as quickly and as efficiently as possible; and
  • Changing their behaviour by unambiguously delivering a message about where acceptable behaviour ends

It is Not acceptable for children to fall off cliffs, under trains, and under cars because of Parent Supported Underage Drinking.

Underage drinking is a scourge against the very development of children:

Leave a Comment » | alcohol, Binge drinking, drink-walking, Pedestrian deaths and injuries, Pedestrian Random Breath Testing, The-Pedestrian-08-Campaign | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08

Amy Winehouse dies – another victim of Big Liquor

27/10/2011

Few reports in the media showed any sympathy to the horrible addictions Amy Winehouse suffered.
Who got Amy onto alcohol?
How young was she?
Was it a good idea?
When she purchased her own, were there any warnings about addiction on the bottles?
Were there warnings about cancer on the bottles?
Were there warnings about the toxicity of alcohol – on the bottles?
At clubs, pubs and bars where Amy consumed, were there readily available BAC testing machines, equipped with relevant audio visual messages, displaying a commonsense max BAC level, plus the myriad of health messages needed to responsibly support the serving of alcohol?
Was Amy’s addiction and death due to the saturation marketing campaign for alcohol, which in the UK, amounts to a minimum of (UK)$600 million per year?
Has the UK government done everything it can to minimise the impact and uptake of alcohol?
Has the UK media made money out of the unrelenting ridicule of Amy – whilst taking money for cheap liquor?

Addendum:
The Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs found:

Police found no evidence of illicit drug use in her flat nor were any traces of such drugs found in her body. However, three empty vodka bottles were found next to her bed. Her family believed that she had died of seizure due to alcohol withdrawal. If an alcoholic suddenly stops drinking this can lead to a condition called delirium tremens which can be fatal.

Leave a Comment » | alcohol, Binge drinking, The Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, The-Pedestrian-08-Campaign | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08

Reaching for responsibility – are we there yet?

17/10/2011

Last Melbourne Cup Day – yes, it is a proclaimed public holiday here – Race Goers crossing Flinders Street from Young & Jackson’s famous bar, were handed a brochure proclaiming a fictitious Point 08 Pedestrian Limit for Race Day and how all Responsible Servers of Alcohol would, quite reasonably, provide an easy mechanism for Users to be able to accurately self test the amount of drug in their system via their Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) Level.
Many of the Users were already so inebriated – at 10 in the morning – that they:

  1. Took the ‘Limit’ literally [they believed it] :) ;
  2. Confessed that they were already ‘over the limit’;
  3. Look really worried – and plainly paused for thought;
  4. Took the brochure.

A year has gone on and as the Melbourne Age reports (Oct 14, 2011) the Melbourne Race Club has moved to doing something like the above hoax, this time for real:

Race-goers at tomorrow’s Caulfield Cup will be able to see whether they exceed the blood-alcohol level as part of a plan to help prevent the racing carnival turning into tragedy.

Two breath-testing devices were today installed in the members pavilion at Caulfield racecourse to give some of the expected crowd of 40,000 the option of getting an alcohol reading before they got behind the wheel.

It is believed the devices, which charge people $2 for a breath test and are claimed by their manufacturers to be as reliable as the ones police use, have never before been installed for a major metropolitan race meeting.


And the motivation?:

Melbourne Racing Club spokesman Josh Rodder said the innovation was a “good cultural thing” to help people know how much alcohol they had consumed.

“It’s good to have just as a guide, so they’ve got an idea how much they’ve had if they are driving, or if they want to avoid having too much to drink,” Mr Rodder said.


And regular readers can see the holes:

  1. Not enough machines for the massive, massive crowd;
  2. No published pedestrian limit (what’s the guideline for a pedestrian?);
  3. No mention of the behaviour changing mechanism of:
    a) Clearly and simply proclaiming a max legal pedestrian limit;
    b) Advertising and marketing the pedestrian limit;
    c) Modify so called RSA guidelines to include a minimum number of BAC Testing machines, that guarantees immediate testing;
    d) Include point of sale audio visual education messages on the BAC Testing machines;
    e) Providing police for Pedestrian Random Breath Testing (RBT).

This more complete plan of law, education, testing and action would truly ensure “a good cultural thing”.

Avoiding incidents as reported in Herald Sun (Oct 16, 2011):

More than 60 people were thrown out of Caulfield Racecourse and three arrested as police cracked down hard on public drunkenness.

However, one woman had to be helped into a wheelchair by two St John Ambulance paramedics and pushed to a first aid station because she was so drunk.

And a fight between a group of young men had to be broken up by police.


By the way, we had our 10,000 visitor, on these pages recently.
Thanks so much for your interest and support.

1 Comment | alcohol, Binge drinking, drink-walking, pedestrian 08 law, Pedestrian deaths and injuries, pedestrian-08-limit, The-Pedestrian-08-Campaign | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08

Can $450k per year change your eyesight, hearing and policy options?

19/03/2011

Although her police and ambulance officers and A & E staff are getting bashed most nights by the alcohol afflicted, NSW Premier Kristina Keneally recently said “wowsers” to Scott Weber, the NSW Police Union, Ambulance Paramedics and their colleagues, the Doctors, Nurses and Security Staff at our Accident and Emergency Departments.

As Scott rightly pointed out in his Punch Article, Who are you calling a wowser Kristina?:

The facts speak for themselves.

  • Alcohol-related violent incidents are growing by over 6 per cent a year;
    The number of paramedics assaulted a year has increased by over 60 per cent since 2006-07;
  • There were 2,855 assaults against police in NSW;
  • And it’s estimated that 70 per cent of these assaults against police were alcohol-related.

    • But Premier Keneally cannot see these statistics, hear the cries of the victims nor speak ill of the perpetrators – Big Liquor.

    Getting BAC Testing into the survey options list
    An interesting survey at Adelaide Now.

    5.3% doesn’t look much, but, some of our now successful political parties and politicians started with less…

    Democracy Doesn’t Come Cheap!
    New MatildaI suggest you read Norman Thompson’s article on NSW party political funding in New Matilda.

    A Quote for those too busy to click:

    In the past 10 years while Labor has been in power, the AHA and hotels companies have contributed over $4.5 million to the NSW ALP. The Coalition only managed to obtain a little over $2 million during this period.

    Every alcohol dollar given to Labor, Liberals and others in NSW was based on Addiction and or Binge Drinking. That’s the rub. That’s why funding of political parties by the purveyors of addictive substances is so wrought with moral dilemmas. Have no doubt, the money received was based to a large degree on the grief of addicts and their families and the strangers they hit, hurt, killed or injured.

    Obviously, this sort of spending would cause ructions in any association. But as a former AHA President said: “Democracy doesn’t come cheap!”. And here.

    Spending $450 k a year on most things can go a long way to achieving your aims.

    What’s this got to do with Pedestrian 08?

    It’s important to realise the connections between Big Liquor, Advertising, Sponsorship, Media Involvement, Politicians and political parties and the fact that laws and regulations are written to INCREASE binge drinking. Thereby creating a greater need for pedestrian 08.

    Leave a Comment » | alcohol, Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Binge drinking, Election Campaign, Kristina Keneally, Scott Weber | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
    Posted by pedestrian08

    Mayor Gives Up!

    25/02/2011

    The Mayor  of Melbourne has given up! See this article here, by Farrah Tomazin, of the Melbourne Age, where he is quoted thus:

    [Mr Doyle] questioned whether there was anything more authorities could do to fix what was ultimately a cultural problem.
    ”We can’t arrest our way out of this,” he said.
    ”It is cultural, and therefore it’s going to take a lot of time to try to fix this.”

    Lord Mayor, Pedestrian 08 is all about effecting cultural change!
    Melbourne’s Herald Sun reckons the increase in street violence amounts to:

    AT least three extra assaults a week happened in Melbourne’s CBD last year compared with 2009.

    Queensland’s Courier Mail (24 Feb) by Xavier La Canna, describes Melbourne’s dilemma thus:
    Police can’t stem Melbourne violence

    THE number of assaults in Melbourne has risen for the seventh straight year despite a police crackdown on violence in the city.

    So after all the funny camera cars, press conferences, photo opportunities, blah blah, 3 more fellow citizens are being assaulted every week.
    The Mayor’s efforts will not stop the once per month, alcohol related, one punch homicides.
    The Mayor’s ongoing failure to give loud and active support any of the known EFFECTIVE counter measures listed elsewhere on this site is disappointing.
    Almost all Melbournians are paying the price for our political leaders constantly running spin over substance with some 85% of Victorians scared of the city after hours.
    Others have paid a heavier price via deaths, injuries, illnesses and traumas associated with Big Liquor’s Binge Drinking violence.

    Leave a Comment » | alcohol, Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, The-Pedestrian-08-Campaign | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
    Posted by pedestrian08

    Big Liquor – killing 2.5 million people per annum

    16/02/2011

    The wrist wringing, the grasping for ineffective, impotent, half-hearted measures by our polling addicted politicians has to end.

    The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that alcohol is killing 2.5 million people per year.

    Too few countries use effective policy options to prevent death, disease and injury from alcohol use.

    - World Health Organisation

    Millions more are harmed or injured.

    These deaths, these injuries and harms are occurring every year.

    World Health Organisation Report

    In Big Liquor’s nirvana, the Russian Federation, 1 in 5 deaths are due to alcohol.

    Media identities who insist on not aggressively pursuing Liquor companies, politicians and political parties who continuously champion deflecting, ineffective measures and continuously ignore the short list of policies known to be effective ought to hang their heads in shame.

    This is a world wide challenge eclipsing AIDS and tuberculosis.

    Alcohol is the world’s third largest risk factor for disease burden; it is the leading risk factor in the Western Pacific and the Americas and the second largest in Europe.

    It is against your national interest to permit:

    1. The advertising or promotion of alcohol
    2. Sporting sponsorship by Big Liquor
    3. Extended trading hours
    4. Ubiquitous availability of liquor licences
    5. Minimum drinking ages below the age of 21
    6. Not having a set maximum, on street BAC level for pedestrians – especially in built up areas.
    7. The bribing/fund-raising for politicians and media by Big Liquor

    There is a world of difference between prohibition of a drug of addiction and allowing the rampant promotion, advertising and sponsorship by the corporate producers of this toxic, cancer causing drug.

    Controlling alcohol is not, nor has it ever been confused with, prohibition.

    Any self respecting government should pull out all policy options to minimise the consumption of alcohol and therefore minimise the harms of alcohol.

    As the World Health Organisation states:

    no [amount of] drinking is entirely safe.

    - Shekhar Saxena, the director of WHO’s mental health and substance abuse department

    Links:

    The WHO report.

    The Economist Article

    Rasta Livewire

    Leave a Comment » | alcohol, Binge drinking, The-Pedestrian-08-Campaign, Underage Drinkers, World Health Organisation | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
    Posted by pedestrian08

    Operation Unite. Great, but what’s the message?

    04/02/2011

    Operation Unite, a joint operation spanning the police forces of Australia and New Zealand was run once more.

    Operation Unite YouTube Announcement

    This could kill

    See NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione’s announcement here.

    Such joint, concerted operations aimed at the victims of Big Liquor should be encouraged.

    Note that the alcohol affected are victims too.

    Many lives would have been saved from either death or injury because of this operation.

    Many, many more would be saved if the message was more clearly spelled out!

    Few of the arrested and fined idiots caught up in this operation would have a clear idea of when exactly they went wrong.

    Will they change their behaviour? Do they know how much is too much? How many will be repeat offenders?

    Whereas, a motorist pulled over for a breathalyser will know exactly where the boundaries are, where and when their transgression commenced and what the probable penalties would be.

    How many of the alcohol afflicted caught up in Operation Unite would have gone home knowing exactly what went wrong – what was it exactly that was illegal? – and what point in time was their errant behaviour was set in motion?

    What Operation Unite needs at its core, is a clear boundary to enforce.

    What Operation Unite needs to enforce is responsible drinking.

    You need to clearly define what responsible drinking is,  in the context of mixing with your fellow citizens in public, in order to have any chance of getting past the message “Don’t upset the police!” – which may in fact be the only campaign message being transmitted during Operation Unite.

    Note, that you cannot get an clear, easily understood answer from police, Big Liquor or Government to this question:

    What is responsible drinking?

    This boundary should be the maximum safe blood alcohol content for a pedestrian: A BAC of point 08.

    That’s a simple, easy to understand, true message in need of Government and community promotion.

    If you work for a police force, ask for it and get your colleagues to ask for it:

    We want a max BAC of 08 for Pedestrians

    Advertise it, Educate the public, Enforce it, like you enforce point 05 for motorists.

    Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Kieran Walshe recently stated that 70% of Victoria Police workload was alcohol related.

    By enforcing a maximum BAC Limit of point 08, Operation Unite should be part of a campaign to reverse that statistic.

    Along with the alcohol epidemic hitting our ambulance and hospital services…

    Leave a Comment » | Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, pedestrian 08 law, pedestrian-08-limit, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , | Permalink
    Posted by pedestrian08

    Fight them off with Opera. ABC – Stateline – Reporters forced to leave train for own safety – and on a Tuesday!

    20/11/2010

    Reporter Kerrie Ritchie and victim of a previous train violence assault Paul Taylor had to leave their Frankston train due to the fear invoked by alcohol fuelled, fellow patrons.
    Not all violence on our trains is alcohol related, but the statistics are compelling:
    70% of all assaults in Australia have alcohol at their core.

    The subject of this story was previously a victim of Frankston Line Train Rock Battering Incident described in the Herald Sun here:

    Train Assault Victim

    Train Assault Victim Tim Redmond injured 4th June 2010

    In the ABC story, Paul tells the story of the terror he and his young son experienced.

    They were part of a football crowd returning home.  AFL football events are often Binge Drinking Events…

    Paul Taylor and ABC feeling the heat of alcohol related tensions
    Some good can come out of this story if the wider ABC starts listening to real people like Paul with these real experiences.

    Fight them off with Opera
    Quote of the year for me comes from Paul Taylor who said of the violence on trains:

    The problem is we tippy-toe around the problem. We play music to scare them off, like you know, ban smoking on the streets of Frankston to move them on. You know we’re just too scared these days to come out and say ‘that’s not tolerated. Stop’. We don’t want do that, we don’t want to confront them, we’d rather fight them off with opera.

    Someone please get the word to Paul and Kerrie Ritchie and crew.
    A Pedestrian 08 law and program of enforcement would have eliminated every incident he and Kerrie Ritchie and crew filmed for this excellent segment.
    Multiple attempts have been made to contact the ABC.
    With the exception of ABC South Australia, we haven’t been able to elicit any interest.

    Leave a Comment » | Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Binge drinking, The-Pedestrian-08-Campaign | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
    Posted by pedestrian08

    ABC 891 (South Australia) radio interview uploaded

    18/11/2010

    Thanks so much to the ABC SA for allowing us to hear this interview by Carol Whitlock.
    Click here for the Mp3 file

    You can also see it at anytime via our Radio Files widget on right hand side of main page.

    A link to Carole’s blog.

    2 Comments | The-Pedestrian-08-Campaign, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , | Permalink
    Posted by pedestrian08

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