A Stormont department has spent almost as much this year as the last five combined on its Christmas drink driving campaign. The £165,000 cost of the new 'RoadWise Up' public safety ads follow a year in which 59 people have died on Northern Ireland roads.
SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan asked DfI Minister John O'Dowd how much the campaign was costing and how much was spent on similar campaigns over the past five years.
According to the answer, this year's sum includes all production costs, artist fees and media spend for the two-part campaign which will feature on channels including Netflix, ITVX and Channel 4 as well as radio, bus rears, outdoor and on YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat.
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The campaign spend this Christmas far exceeds that of any of the past five years. Last year 71 people were killed in fatal crashes, DfI spent nothing on Christmas driving campaigns while and between £40k-£55k each year in media costs from 2018-2022 as production costs for those campaigns fell outside that period according to DfI.
Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd said as he unveiled this year's Christmas campaign: "I am responsible for promoting and improving road safety, which is a responsibility I take very seriously. We all know the dangers of drink/drug driving, yet some people are still prepared to take that risk.
2022/23 - £0
2021/22 - £45.5k
2020/21 - £55.2k
2019/20 - £51.6k
2018/19 - £40.9k
"Too many people sadly lose their lives or are seriously injured as a result of drink or drug driving and that is a tragedy for their families and friends. We all know the dangers of drink/drug driving, yet some people are still prepared to take that risk.
"Influencing the attitudes and behaviours of drivers who are tempted to mix alcohol and driving is crucial in reducing the number of people killed and seriously on our roads."
Police also launched their winter anti-drink and drug driving campaign earlier this week, with Chief Superintendent Sam Donaldson warning: "Drink or drug driving is one of the 'fatal five', which are the main reasons people are dying on our roads."
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