Police in Queensland’s South Burnett have gone to unusual lengths to combat drink-driving.
Dubbed Project Sober Roads, police have teamed with a local community bank to offer a prize for drivers who blow a reading of zero when pulled over for random breath testing (RBT).
“Normally when the police give you a ticket it’s not a positive thing,” Sergeant Jason Newton said.
“But in Nanango, if we pull someone over and they blow zero, we give them a ‘sober roads’ ticket. They can drop it in at the local community bank and then they go into a draw to win a $500 bank account.”
Sergeant Newton said drivers were initially shocked and surprised to be rewarded for blowing zero.
He said the campaign had become the talk of the town.
“People are actively seeking out the RBT now,” he laughed. “But that is what we wanted.”
Sergeant Newton said he wanted to see a cultural shift in the way people approached the issue of driving under the influence.
“It’s a fact of life we still have people driving while alcohol or drug-impaired,” he said.
We are thinking outside the box and taking a different approach, but at the same time we are still doing all the regular enforcement activities.
Sergeant Jason Newton
“This year in Nanango approximately 30 per cent of traffic crashes have involved people impaired by alcohol or a drug.
“From a local perspective, that is quite high.”
Read more at ABC News.