No Escape
By Davy McCombe

Over the Christmas period 478 people decided to take the risk and drive while under the influence of alcohol. The numbers are up by 82 on the same period last year. Disappointing indeed to say the least. The head of PSNI’s Road Policing Development Branch Supt. Hamill stated “that, of course means that 478 people are now looking at the inevitable prospect of losing their licences, their jobs, and in effect their livelihoods. We said at the outset of the campaign that there would be no hiding place for those who drink and drive. The figures from across the Province show that we lived up to that determination”.

Grim statistics indeed! Despite TV and newspaper ad campaigns over Christmas, despite an increased presence on the roads, and despite all the admonitions and advice not to drink and drive it’s hard to believe that people still do it. They think they won’t get caught. They think it will be okay this time, excuses seem to come handy, and before they know it the sound of the siren and the flashing lights signal the reality of drink driving. The law, both legal and moral will make them accountable. But it doesn’t just end there. In today’s society not having a car or licence to drive is a major deficit especially when you’ve been used to or dependent on one.

However, is there anything else that will discourage drivers from drinking and driving whilst unfit? One possibility, is the exorbitant cost of soft drinks such as cola, fruit juice, etc., in relation to alcoholic drinks. I personally have experienced this in many places, North and South, and in Europe. A large Coke and a Ballygowan sparkling water cost ¤6.50, whereas a pint and a half of beer costs ¤5.85. That huge mark-up on the cost of soft drinks does little to encourage drivers to refrain from alcohol. Indeed, in my view it has the opposite effect! Why pay more for something not really enjoyed. Why not take a chance and enjoy a beer or two, costing less, and take the risk of not being caught driving by the police on the way home?

This rip-off in relation to the cost of non-alcoholic drinks has been highlighted many times over recent years. Edinburgh Evening News journalist Brian Ferguson revealed that Trading Standards Officers from Edinburgh council found the price of a mineral water was as expensive as £2.50 in some licensed premises. In the same article Edinburgh City Councillor Marilyne MacLaren stated there was no excuse for pubs charging such exorbitant prices for soft drinks. She urged publicans to peg their prices for soft drinks and encourage them to offer “designateddrivers” either discount or free soft drinks.

If we’re serious about tackling alcohol abuse and binge-drinking, and all the problems that go with them, it’s extremely important that people are given an alternative to alcohol the same. The cost of soft drinks is, in comparison to alcoholic drinks, extortionate. A survey for the Dept. of Trade and Industry in 1999 shows the comparative cost of soft alcoholic drinks per litre average draught/tap as £3.83/£3.54 and bottled soft alcoholic drinks per litre (off sales) as £1.31/£3.07, which proves the huge mark-up the pubs, etc. are imposing.
If the government in the Republic can impose a ban on smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants, surely a simpler problem such as hiking the cost of soft drinks could be tackled by both the Irish and British governments. There is a strong case to be made on behalf of many people.

Maybe those 478 people caught over the Christmas period (not to mention those unaccounted who were not) in retrospect would have willingly paid the “extortionist” prices for soft drinks rather than be in the position they find themselves at present. It seems there is no real incentive; certainly not in the bars hotels and restaurants. People feel they are being callously exploited by greedy publicans and manufacturers who are fixing prices and it’s the ordinary punters at the end of the day who are paying dearly for it in more ways than one. Next time you purchase a bottle of Coke in your local supermarket at £1.00 per 2 litre or a glass of Coke (or water) in the pub at £2.50 then take time to ponder the difference. It could cost you a lot more than an arm and a leg!

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