David from Wollongong, NSW, contributes this link:
http://www.rbt.com.au/rbt-articles/1992/10/17/how-rbt-changed-our-lives/
David is across what is needed:
The implementation did not mean that police had to be on every street.
They worked and reworked the hot spots and look what has been achieved.
The key point being that RBT turned a policy, specifically a message, into one that was effective.
By setting a limit, promoting it, then efficiently enforcing it…
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alcohol related violence, Binge drinking, pedestrian 08 law, pedestrian-08-limit, Uncategorized | Tagged: AFL, AFLPA, Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Australian-Football-League, Australian-Football-League-Players-Association, Binge drinking, Nathan-Alsop, pedestrian-08-campaign | 
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Posted by pedestrian08
Venezuela has reportedly decided to ban ‘war porn’ video games. Why? Opponents to the current regime claim 100,000 Venezuelans have been murdered in civil violence since the current leader Hugo Chavez came to power. Evidently, look at a person the ‘wrong’ way in Venezuela and you get repeatedly shot. Experts are putting this trend down to the behaviour change wrought by games manufacturers and Hollywood.
Video games have been held up as desensitising youth to undertake real violence without much provocation.
Read the rest of this entry »
2 Comments | Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Pedestrian deaths and injuries | Tagged: Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, alcohol-as-psychoactive-drug, Australian-Drug-Foundation, drink-walking, Geoff-Munro, pedestrian 08 law, pedestrian-08-campaign, pedestrian-08-limit, Simon-Overland, think-before-you-drink, US-Army, video-games, war-games | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08
From Tasmania’s Mercury Newspaper, read for how Hobart’s streets are in the grip of alcohol related violence.
Justice David Porter described the act as “callous and heinous”.
“This was an unprovoked and brutal attack on two strangers in a public thoroughfare,” he said.
“Such people are entitled to move freely about public streets without the fear of alcohol-fuelled and irrational violence.
That is one aim of The Pedestrian 08 Campaign.
The right to move freely about public streets without fear.
Leave a Comment » | Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Pedestrian deaths and injuries, Uncategorized | Tagged: Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Justice-David-Porter, pedestrian-08-campaign | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08
With alcohol related violence spiralling out of control, the Australian State of Victoria has announced some changes. These involve:
But, you know and I know that this is not enough…
The Victorian police recently ran out of overtime money and pulled over 100 seasoned officers from patrolling the bloodied war zone that is late night Melbourne. During this blitz, incidents of alcohol related violence INCREASED by 4%. One can only imagine how bad it would have been without them there.
Melbourne is currently down 100 police on what we had during the blitz.
Now the massive news is they are going to buy in 120 more officers to be in place by April next year! How many lives and injuries is this hiatus going to cost?
Eventually these 100 officers will be in place, but, you know and I know that this too is not enough…
Is it a fair estimate to think that during this punching-kicking-knifing season, we will see a 20% increase in alcohol related violent incidents?
One thing our leaders have failed to do is too plainly state, in spin free English, whether their initiatives are going to decrease alcohol related ambulance call outs. Whether their initiatives are going to decrease the number of alcohol related, one punch homicides. Whether their initiatives are going to save the lives, the memories, and the quality of life of so many people who will become disabled and brain damaged in the next 6 months.
As reported somewhere below, Victoria has around 5,000 ambulance call outs per year devoted to cleaning up after alcohol.
Any initiative worthy of the word should come with a boast: ‘Our initiatives will save the lives of [Insert number here] people. They will halve the number of alcohol related ambulance call outs within 12 months. They will be fully funded by the offenders themselves.’
Don’t hold your breath.
Big Liquor doesn’t like governments getting in the way of profits. If these profits kill and maim, so be it.
The Victorian Government needs to step up the leadership and plainly state to the drinking public that ‘Responsible drinking ends at 08′ and any pedestrian who blows over 08 will pay.
The Victorian Government needs to lead this culture, not be led around by it.
Leave a Comment » | Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Binge drinking, Pedestrian deaths and injuries, Uncategorized | Tagged: alcohol related violence, inpatient-visits, Nightclub Association, pedestrian-08-campaign, Victoria Police, Victorian Government | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08
Government and community bodies at Halls Creek in the Kimberly, WA implemented a minor change to alcohol availability. They restricted the sale of takeaway, full strength alcohol.
What was the result of this initiative? The hospital reports a halving of emergencies!
Gee that was an expensive fix! Wow, how hard was that?
Then to reinforce the good news, the police report a halving of their workload!
But saving life and limb means nothing to some people, not when it gets in the way of profit.
The governments involved are being taken to the High Court.
Click on this link for an excellent interview by the ABC’s David Weber.
When asked by Weber about the halving of the hospital visits, listen to this for an attitude:
Yeah, that is neither here nor there. That is a social aspect the Government have to take care of.
Let’s all hope that the government hires better lawyers than the objectors can afford!
This story serves as a practical demonstration of how effective a concerted, targeted attack on the booze industry can reap huge rewards. Financial rewards as well as the satisfaction of a lessening of the number of battered wives and children, of less mindless violence generating less pain and suffering and death. Then think of the longer term savings of booze created cancer victims, cancer treatments and cancer deaths.
Writing this in Melbourne, Australia I reflect on how our city’s alcohol problems differ in so many respects to those found in Halls Creek. Takeaway alcohol isn’t the major cause of our problems. The unrestricted 24 hour a day trading of booze and drug outlets in our city have created a culture of binge drinking and drugs, where the detritus stumble and fall onto the streets, and mindlessly rob, attack, maim, and about once per month, Kill others.
Vale Brendan Keilar.
A BAC 08 limit, properly publicised and enforced would, if similarly as effective as the Halls Creek measure, lead to a reduction of Ambulance Callouts in my state of Victoria from around 5000 per annum down to 2500. Substantial savings in stress and cost at our Hospital Accident and Emergency departments would occur. I’m sure that our many hospital Accident and Emergency staff dream of a halving of their workload!
Leave a Comment » | Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Binge drinking | Tagged: Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, ambulance-callouts, Binge drinking, Brendan-Keilar, Halls-Creek-Hospital, Halls-Creek-police, pedestrian-08-campaign, pedestrian-deaths-injuries | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08
So, the intersection you arrive at in the middle of the night is devoid of any traffic and you are faced with a red light. How many of us break the law and cruise on through?
Very few. Why?
Well I suppose it must get down to a respect for the law.
As we now have to breathalyse hundreds and hundreds of motorists to pick up the odd one over the limit, due in no small part to a general respect for the law, so will it be on getting the 08 law for pedestrians.
People will moderate their intake once they are told that this is the law, and that they are expected to obey it.
Just like they do at red lights.
We all get the benefit from fewer ambulance callouts, fewer hospital visits, fewer pedestrian fatalities via accident and alcohol fuelled violence. The trains get safer…
Because we stop at the red light.
Leave a Comment » | Pedestrian deaths and injuries | Tagged: ambulance-callouts, inpatient-visits, pedestrian-08-campaign, pedestrian-deaths-injuries | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08
In just one state, Victoria, of one small country, Australia, there were 4805 ambulance call outs due to drunkeness, alcohol related injury and alcohol fuelled violence.
Despite some claims that the totality of the problem has not changed, this figure of 4805 call-outs (2006 figures) more than doubled that of 2002.
The 2007 Victorian Drug Statistics Handbook found more than 24,700 inpatient hospital visits were caused by alcohol consumption in 2005-06 an increase of 6 per cent over 2004-05.
Meanwhile, patients who may have thought that once on their way to hospital via ambulance, that they were on their way to a better outcome, many are shocked to find that they get to hospital and have to wait in the ambulance for up to an hour before they can be transferred to a trolley.
Whereas, it used to be thought a mark of major concern that a patient has to wait on a trolley, now the problem is you have to wait outside, tying down an ambulance and crew.
One massive benefit of having a government willing to take on this culture is to minimise the load on all our emergency services.
Sick people, sick due to no action of their own, have to fry in ambulances, because our governments refuse to police pedestrians.
Leave a Comment » | Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Binge drinking, Pedestrian deaths and injuries | Tagged: Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, ambulance-callouts, Binge drinking, inpatient-visits, pedestrian-08-campaign, pedestrian-deaths-injuries | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08
This occured not that long ago in Melbourne:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/road-safety-blitz-in-melbournes-cbd-20090511-azo8.html
Read this and weep! You’ll see stats given like:
Senior Sergeant Shane Pettingill, from Melbourne’s traffic management unit, said the CBD had the highest number of pedestrian and cyclist collisions in the state – 358 over the past year – with injuries rising at an alarming rate.
Two pedestrians have died and 66 were seriously injured in the past 12 months.
No mention is made of the safety of having the recent explosion of bars, clubs and other liquour outlets, combined with the associated increase in violence.
Other sources reveal that each pedestrian injury can cost the state up to $500,000.00
Thats a massive subsidy to the ‘entertainment industry’…
Not one pedestrian during this ‘blitz’ would have been breath tested, found to be incapable of safely continuing their journey, and perhaps preventing them from falling under a train or tram, engaging in alcohol fuelled violence or worst of all, getting into a car and driving off undetected…
Reason: not against the law to be over .08 and be a pedestrian.
Leave a Comment » | Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Binge drinking, Pedestrian deaths and injuries | Tagged: Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Binge drinking, ineffective, ineffective-measures, pedestrian-08-campaign, pedestrian-deaths-injuries, road-safety-blitz | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08
Read Eddie’s opinion piece ‘Sex, Sport and Safety Nets’
In it he describes a discussion with a female commentator, during which she proposed that footballers be banned from alcohol by their leagues during the course of their careers – so devastating has the abuse of alcohol been to the footballers, the game and the businesses associated with them.
The no-nonsense Kennerley’s thinking being that just about every ill associated with sportsmen’s behaviour, and you can extrapolate that out to include society’s, comes back to the abuse of alcohol.
The more you think about it, Kerri-Anne’s solution would undoubtedly cut down the number of incidents. At the very least we know that Melbourne’s CBD problems would by and large evaporate immediately.
You’re almost there Eddie!
And Kerri-Anne!
Try and think through how a fixed, sensible max BAC limit .08, enforced as a matter of the highest priority, would cut down the number of incidents whilst letting responsible drinkers get on with their lives…
Leave a Comment » | Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Binge drinking, Pedestrian deaths and injuries | Tagged: Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Binge drinking, Eddie-McGuire, pedestrian-08-campaign, pedestrian-deaths-injuries | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25496094-661,00.html
Read about another senseless loss of life including this about the person charged:
Magistrate Richard Pithouse imposed bail conditions including a ban on him drinking alcohol and an order that he report to police daily and not contact witnesses.
If they see the arrested person walking the streets, are they going to breathalyse him?
Would an .08 limit helped prevent this incident?
Leave a Comment » | Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, Pedestrian deaths and injuries | Tagged: Alcohol fuelled violence, alcohol related violence, ineffective-measures, pedestrian-08-campaign, pedestrian-deaths-injuries | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08
How many drinks will keep me under .08?
You can now work it out in advance of having a single drink! You can do this via internet or phone, at home or on the road.
Drink Tracker is an iPhone compatible BAC Calculator. 
Click here for a free web based version.
Enter your details and what you would normally drink and over what time frame.
Most users report that their 'normal' drinking keeps them well under 08
Do not depend on any calculator for keeping under any limit.
Seek advice widely.
And Test Your Own BAC Level!
All Responsible Venues should supply you with a state of the art, BAC Testing Machine!
The BAC Testing Machine above is Certified to Australian Standards AS 3547-1997
What is a safe level of drinking?
Click here for the National Health and Medical Research Councils instructions on what constitutes safe drinking.
But always remember Responsible Drinking ends at 08!
None of the businesses and organisations referred to above are sponsors of The Pedestrian 08 Campaign. The references are provided for your evaluation and possible use only
Standing near site of 2 fatal pedestrian attacks
Blogs:
Dont forget to check out the pedestrian08 blog here
After 3aw interview, 3aw started a blog topic on the proposal here
 | pedestrian08 on About the Pedestrian 08 C… |
 | mandatefromthepeople on About the Pedestrian 08 C… |
 | Photobooth Journal on Reaching for responsibility … |
 | Tracey Hurlbut on Contact Page |
 | jeffg on ABC 891 (South Australia) radi… |
