At the recent seminar on Status of Alcohol Abuse in PNG last month, one of the interesting comments by the National Road Safety Council Director Frank Aku was that in a 1987 attitude survey towards drink driving in PNG, it was found that females were more concerned and more motivated to prevent alcohol abuse and drink driving.
Research has also shown that in other countries and not just in PNG, the attitudes of females was more than likely to change behaviour towards alcohol abuse and drink driving and that women encouraged better practices.
Despite this useful information (no matter how outdated), there was no mention of any anti-drink driving or safe alcohol consumption campaigns that focused on engaging women in fighting one of the nations largest and most costly social problems.
Instead the main campaigns mentioned were targeted at predominantly male drivers and not too related to alcohol and driving, despite the fact that it is one of the nation's biggest social problems.
According to Dr John Mua, the head of Motor Vehicle Insurance Limited, figures from 2010 research into drink driving paint a stark reality on our roads.
85 percent of fatal accidents involved drunk drivers and 20 percent of fatal accidents that included pedestrians occurred when the pedestrians were drunk.
“The worrying trend us that people are getting drunk and driving and people are accepting this as normal.”
If you want to put a kina value on the price that drunk drivers wrought on society, Dr Mua estimates it around half a billion kina year. This includes damages to roads and infrastructure, drunk drive accidents clogging up our health resources, insurance payments, loss of income for families, vehicle repairs and also impact on whole communities who many times must meet large compensation payments because of drunk driver fatalities.
Armed with their research and information, MVIL and other agencies such as the National Road Safety Authority, Law and Justice sector as well the biggest brewer in the country SP Brewery have launched various messages targeted at better, safer driving on the roads including discouraging drink driving.
But none of these awareness programs target the culture that fosters drink driving adequately.
SP Brewery is about to launch a designated driver program that is involves distributing posters in nightclubs and bars and SP representatives appearing to talk on talk back radio to encourage partygoers to become designated drivers. Basically to encourage one person with a driver licence to stay sober and become the driver for all of his/her friends when clubbing or partying.
I have no idea what the campaign will look like but I hope SP Brewery is aiming to make a change instead of just trying to look good.
But the problem is that all these campaigns seem timid responses to a problem that is already an epidemic across the country.
None of these campaigns target the culture of drink driving in Papua New Guinea.
And none of these campaigns target raising the awareness of women, the one group that can influence and change the culture of drink driving and alcohol abuse in the country.
At the same conference, adding to the pessimism, the Director Frank Aku said that despite all the research there has been no legislation that makes drink driving in PNG illegal and as a result police do not have the power to persecute drink drivers.
He wants the existing motor traffic act to be revised and police equipped and trained with breathalysers and how to administer drink-driving test.
While we wait for some sort of change, our simple suggestion is that the ladies of PNG should make a conscious effort to encourage safer practices and less drink driving amongst their families, friends and co-workers.
Dont wait for legislation or brewery branded posters.
The Role of Women in making the roads safer
Women were more motivated to prevent alcohol and drink driving abuses and they were more likely to change attitudes towards drink driving.
So this is our suggestion, without the big budgets of MVIL or NRSC or SP Brewery but with this website, newsletter, facebook page and appearance in the media – that we encourage ladies to take a role in curbing the culture simply by;
1. Being Mindful that Drunk Drivers are Dangerous.
2. Always insist that someone stay sober to be the designated driver when going out.
3. Encourage their friends, families and co-workers not to drink and drive.
4. Learn to drive and get their licences, so that if their driver is drunk, they don’t have to put their lives in his/her drunken hand.
5.At office parties they encourage less drink driving and get their organisations drivers to stay sober in order to do the drop off.
6. For mothers, if your husband is drunk and his friends want him to drive around town looking for beer, put your foot down and say no, for the sake of your kids.
7. Just try to encourage everyone to take better care on the roads.
If you have any comments, please add them below.
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