The Flemish national broadcasting company VRT is launching a remarkable traffic campaign to remind Flemish drivers that there are no excuses when it comes to driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
One of the key figures in the campaign is… television producer Tom Waes, who was involved in a traffic accident one year ago, in which he was severely injured. The message of the campaign is clear: “There are no excuses, you don’t drink and drive” (Er zijn geen excuses. Rij zonder invloed).
Shocking images
The campaign’s visuals are shocking and end with the image everyone remembers: a crashed green Porsche—Tom Waes’s car. Then Waes himself appears on screen, followed by the message: “There are no excuses. Drive without influence.”
Last year, the public broadcaster already focused on the dangers of using a smartphone behind the wheel with a campaign featuring Belgian singer Pommelien Thijs, while this autumn, the spotlight is on the irresponsible behavior of drivers who get behind the wheel under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
Persistent social problem
Drunk driving is a persistent social problem. Everyone knows it’s illegal—most Flemish people respect the alcohol limit—yet it still happens. Often, it ends well, until it goes wrong. And then the consequences are unimaginable.
At least ten traffic accidents involving alcohol or illegal drugs occur in Belgium every day, often resulting in serious injuries and sometimes fatalities. Yet, almost one in five Belgian drivers admits to driving with a possible blood alcohol content at least once a month. One in twenty does so just as often under the influence of illegal drugs.
Behind those numbers lie lasting scars: accidents, lifelong trauma, and an enormous impact on victims, their families, and friends.
Team of experts
“Road safety affects us all, and that’s precisely why we want to create a broad social debate that encourages people to think and take action. As a public broadcaster, we believe that powerful stories can have a major impact,” VRT concludes.
For the campaign, VRT collaborated with various advocacy groups and experts: Rondpunt vzw, Witnesses on the Road, Parents of Children Killed in Accidents-SAVE, Over-Hoop, Moderator, Fonds Emilie Leus, Even Zeer vzw, and Fractie van een Seconde. VRT also reviewed the campaign with the Vias Institute and the Flemish Road Safety Foundation (VSV).
