Townsville Liquor Accord is working with local police to combat drink-driving, offering bistro vouchers to people blowing zero on a breath test.
The initiative is part of Townsville Liquor Accord’s (TLA) “Who’s Des?” campaign – encouraging awareness of the need for a designated driver.
“It’s about making people aware they can still go to the pub and be responsible,” TLA president Arthur McMahon told the Brisbane Times.
The TLA has given police 25 vouchers of $50, to be spent in the bistro of one of the 21 venues in the Accord.
The tongue-in-cheek program to get sober drivers into the pub stems from the TLA’s mandate to address the issue of drink-driving, and McMahon shrugs off any suggestion the irony of rewarding responsible drivers this way is not appropriate.
“It’s how they go there, how they conduct themselves and how they’re prepared to go home, and if we can help them in any way to achieve those points, well why not try?”
Over the course of this week, Police are providing Townsville drivers that blow a zero reading on a breathalyser test with entry into a draw to win one of the vouchers. A spokesperson stressed that they could not be used to buy drinks.
“We aren’t allowed to give alcohol vouchers.”
