Drink driving

The lowdown on drink driving.

One in five fatal crashes involve drink driving. On average, 51 Queenslanders die due to drink driving every year. A further 695 are injured. Most are hospitalised. So why is alcohol so dangerous? Drinking slows your reaction time, blurs your vision and makes it hard to judge things like speed and distance. Pretty scary huh? But how do you know when you’re over the limit? It’s hard because different people process alcohol differently. Plus, different glass sizes and different alcohol content make it hard to tell how much you’ve had. When will you be okay to drive? Well, the only thing that breaks down alcohol is time. You can still be over the limit the next morning. That’s why, if you’re driving it’s easier to stick to the soft stuff. But what if you want to have a few drinks? Make a plan. Organise a lift, catch a cab or ride-share, or public transport. Designate a driver or stay at a mate’s. It’s that easy. Together we can make the roads safer for everyone.

Join the Drive to Save Lives. Queensland Government.

[Inside a rural pub, a group of mates are having a chat and finishing up drinks. They welcome their courtesy bus driver who waves to them – it’s time to wrap up.]

Instrumental music plays in the background – Wind Beneath My Wings

[2 x couples are finishing up a long lunch in the backyard.]

[The boys load up on their courtesy bus and click in their seatbelts. The door closes and the bus drives away. The boys sing terribly out of tune to the driver. The bus driver glances back through the rearview mirror. He’s smiling]

Lyrics: Did you ever know that your my hero?

[The woman runs from the house to the waiting car in the rain. She gets in the car and greets her weary-eyed partner. The car drives away. She sings to him.]

Lyrics: You’re everything I would like to be.

[A mum and dad say their farewells to their friends at the front of the house as they walk to their daughter, waiting in the car to collect them. The car drives away. Both parents sing to their daughter. She’s part embarrassed, part amused.]

Lyrics: I can fly higher than an eagle.

[The woman continues to sing to her partner in the car now with a hair brush in hand, acting as a microphone.]

Lyrics: For you are the wind beneath my wings.

Announcer: RBT means you need a plan B, so don’t drink and drive. Plan your #LiftLegend instead.

[The bus passes a random roadside breath test, while the boys in the bus continue to sing, while the driver laughs.]

Lyrics: Fly!

[The bus continues its journey through farmland. We see a cow in the foreground.]

[The daughter driving her parents back home from their long lunch is being won over by their appreciation. The parents continue to sing.]

Lyrics: Fly up into the sky. So high I almost touched the sky.

[The woman continues to sing to her partner in the car.]

Lyrics: Thank you, thank you!

[Inside a busy pub, two young men sitting at a table are drinking beer. The first man is laughing loudly. There is a lot of background noise from the other patrons. The second man picks up his glass of beer and asks his mate a question.]

Second man: So are you driving?

[The first man is silent as he thinks about the question. Chimes play, then an up tempo boogie song starts playing. He imagines a range of situations to avoid driving. These include getting into a Plan B branded cab and waiting late at night at a Plan B bus stop, where he sits near a young couple kissing.]

Song lyrics: Work your body

[The man next imagines himself waiting alone at a train station. The station is named Plan B and the man sits on a Plan B timber bench as a Plan B train approaches.]

[The man walks towards a motel. A sign above the motel reads: Motel Plan B. The ‘No vacancy’ sign flickers on and off.]

[A fanfare of brass sounds as the man imagines being carried from the pub on a golden throne by about 10 young blonde women. They all wear short gold skirts and their leader carries a Plan B standard.]

[The man imagines he has fallen asleep on his mate’s couch. Coloured cushions with letters spell out Plan B. His mate tosses a doona over him.]

[The man imagines he is outside the pub wearing a helmet and being loaded into a large carnival style cannon with Plan B painted on the side in bright colours. As the cannon’s fuse burns, we see the man sticking his head out of the cannon.]

[The man next imagines he is back in the pub inside a teleporter. He stands inside a clear plastic tube with lights on the top and bottom, pushes the Plan B button and braces himself. As he stands ready to be teleported, only his leg appears to be flickering in and out of existence.]

Narrator: Some Plan B’s are smarter than others.

[He pushes the button again.]

Narrator: If you’re drinking, don’t drive.

[A beer is picked up from a coaster that reads: If you’re drinking, don’t drive.]

[Another coaster is thrown on top of the first. It reads: RBT means you need a Plan B.]

Narrator: RBT means you need a Plan B.

[The man walks home on a footpath late at night. The soundtrack features an electric guitar riff. The man smiles to himself as he sees a passing car pulled over by a police random breath testing unit.]

[End credits: Authorised by the Queensland Government, William St, Brisbane.]

[The first man picks up his glass of beer and asks his mate a question.]

First man: You driving?

[The second man is silent as he thinks about the question. Chimes play as the man imagines he is outside the pub wearing a helmet and being loaded into a large carnival style cannon. Plan B is painted on the side of the cannon in bright colours. As the cannon’s fuse burns, we see the man sticking his head out of the cannon’s mouth.]

Narrator: Some Plan B’s are smarter than others.

Narrator: If you’re drinking, don’t drive.

[A beer is picked up from a coaster that reads: If you’re drinking, don’t drive.]

[Another coaster is thrown on top of the first. It reads: RBT means you need a Plan B.]

Narrator: RBT means you need a Plan B.

[As the second man stares off into space, the first man takes a beer from the second man’s hand.]

[End credits: Authorised by the Queensland Government, Brisbane. Spoken by A. Twigg & A. Jarrett.]

[The first man picks up his glass of beer and asks his mate a question.]

First man: You driving?

[The second man is silent as he thinks about the question. Chimes play as he imagines himself flicking a red switch on a Plan B launch control. We see the second man launch upwards as rocket flares shoot out of his chair.]

Narrator: Some Plan B’s are smarter than others.

[We see the first man wave the rocket’s smoke out of his face as he coughs.]

[We cut back to reality and see the first man waving in front of the seconds man’s face. The second man is staring off into space, oblivious to the world around him.]

Narrator: If you’re drinking, don’t drive.

[A beer is picked up from a coaster that reads: If you’re drinking, don’t drive.]

[Another coaster is thrown on top of the first. It reads: RBT means you need a Plan B.]

Narrator: RBT means you need a Plan B.

Narrator: Authorised by the Queensland Government, Brisbane.

[End credits: Authorised by the Queensland Government, Brisbane. Spoken by A. Twigg & A. Jarrett.]

[The first man picks up his glass of beer and asks his mate a question.]

First man: You driving?

[The second man is silent as he thinks about the question. Chimes play as he imagines himself standing inside a giant clear plastic tube inside a pub. He hits a red button in front of him. As he braces for teleportation, the teleporter fails. The man pushes the big red button again.]

Narrator: Some Plan B’s are smarter than others.

Narrator: If you’re drinking, don’t drive.

[A beer is picked up from a coaster that reads: If you’re drinking, don’t drive.]

[Another coaster is thrown on top of the first. It reads: RBT means you need a Plan B.]

Narrator: RBT means you need a Plan B.

[We see the second man look off to his side, as he says ‘nah!’

[End credits: Authorised by the Queensland Government, Brisbane. Spoken by A. Twigg & A. Jarrett.]

There comes a time in a Queenslander’s life when we’re called to say “No Thanks I’m driving”.

“Good man” “Have you seen my fur babies” “Cat’s, Oh who’s That?” We must trust our instincts, and be ever watchful… So we can do what must be done.

Be decisive, remain focused and compassionate. There’s no medal, But the rewards are great. When you plan to drive dry, Queensland salutes you.

Authorised by the Queensland Government, Brisbane.