Real people talk about real impacts of drink driving: video   9 Apr 2014

MEDIA RELEASE
9 April 2014

Real people talk about real impacts of drink driving: new video

People telling real stories about how drink driving has impacted their lives feature in an unscripted new ‘drive sober’ video clip launched this week.

Produced as part of the ‘Driver sober – protect your whanau’ campaign with the Kia Magic netball team, the video is one of several being released over the ANZ Championship season to raise awareness of the prevalence of drink driving and the harm it causes.

“The video is unscripted and when we filmed it at a Hamilton shopping centre and in the UniRec sports hall we had no idea what kind of response we would get from people,” said Waikato Regional Council’s road safety team leader, Jo Carling.

“It’s incredible the number of people we found who have their own story to tell on how they’ve been impacted by drink driving,” she said.

A young man who features in the video issues a plea to viewers not to make the mistake he made at the age of 15, which has left him in a wheelchair.

“His message is really compelling,” said Ms Carling. “This campaign will be worthwhile if it stops even one person going through the kind of life-changing trauma he has suffered.”

Others who share their stories in the clip include Magic star shooter Ellen Halpenny and Kate van der Hulst, a netball mum whose husband, Pete, was seriously injured in a crash.

Mrs van der Hulst said this was the first time she’d talked publicly about the crash and its impacts from her point of view.

“We live with the effects of that crash everyday and if sharing our story makes someone think twice about being weary and having just one drink to be social, then for me it will have been worth it,” Mrs van der Hulst said.

To hear this story and others, watch the video at www.reducetherisk.co.nz. There’s also the chance to win free tickets to see the Kia Magic team in action at the next home game, being played at Claudelands Events Centre on Sunday 20 April at 7.20pm.

The ‘Drive Sober’ campaign involves multiple stakeholders including Kia Magic netball, Waikato Regional Council, local authorities, New Zealand Police, and the NZ Transport Agency.

ENDS

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