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! [Edit: Note: I've recently gone back to the site, and, showing a level of intellectual and cultural cowardice, this site has removed all my contributions with "[deleted]“.  Giving yet another example of why so many drinkers are totally unaware of the toxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic and addictive nature of their recreational drug…]
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

Britney Spears wins honorary membership!

11/10/2009

In Melbourne Australia, where this is written, we are served by 2 dailies, the Herald-Sun and The Melbourne Age.  Not only that, but we have another broadsheet, The Australian. So, unlike a lot of places in this world, we have access to plenty of writers and hopefully, plenty of different voices.

So these are some of the headlines in today’s papers:

Exposed: Grog online too easy for under-age teen, Mark Russell, The Age
Safety rethink as pedestrian toll stays high, Reid Sexton, The Age

Don't drink it all at once

Don't drink it all at once

Mark Russell doesn’t mention how many times The Offending Retailer has been taken to court, prosecuted and fined, although we are left with the guess that this number is zero.

There is a lack of aggression on the part of Mark Russell, which is probably couched in a belief that no harm is really being done. If correct, this could not be further from the truth. An accompanying, motivated editorialist might be asking why does it take a newspaper to try out this sort of testing behaviour? What are the licensing bodies doing to earn their pay?  Have they been stifled by their minister? Should a hand sitter or two be immediately sacked? Read the rest of this entry »

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

Victoria Police deliver…

28/09/2009

By way of background information, the most celebrated day on the Victorian calendar would have to be the Australian Rules Football (AFL) Grand Final, where 100,000 paying customers attend at the centrally located Melbourne Cricket Ground and millions watch and listen live on free to air television and radio.

Proving again, what a massive success Victoria’s BAC 05 Campaign has become, Victoria Police BAC tested EVERY driver leaving the car parks of the MCG and found only two over the limit.
Read the rest of this entry »

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

Recent changes a nice nudge, but no where near enough

10/08/2009

With alcohol related violence spiralling out of control, the Australian State of Victoria has announced some changes. These involve:

  1. Search laws for the removal of knives – great news.
  2. A new law called ‘disorderly conduct’ which relies on the spot fines of significant proportions – good one.
  3. New liquor licensing fees that penalise the booze focussed all night venues. (The Nightclub Association laments that some will have to close down. Not one of them is worth the life of one of the late night victims of alcohol related violence. Good riddance!)

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: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by pedestrian08

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