There were predictable howls of outrage from Alcohol Concern and their transport equivalents BRAKE at the news that a filling station in Kenilworth was offering a discount on fuel to customers who also bought alcohol.
A spokesman for Alcohol Concern said: “This irresponsible promotion is a direct encouragement for people to make unplanned alcohol purchases when people may be driving to visit friends and family. This is bound to increase the likelihood of drink-driving.”Oh come on, are there any recorded drink-driving cases whatsoever where the driver has called in to fill up, seen a four-pack of Carling on sale and thought “oh, I’ll just have these for a bit of refreshment during the journey”? And surely anyone so inclined would be just as likely to buy some drink from a Tesco Express they were passing.
The article also lumps this in with more general statistics about drink-driving without any evidence of there being an actual link.
Of course, for Alcohol Concern, any success in restricting alcohol sales anywhere is another little victory. Looking back through the archives, I see that this issue has cropped up already.
(H/t to JuliaM)
And I see that is post #1000 on here :-)
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Morons who drive after drinking over the limit will do so anyway, because they believe that their driving ability is unimpaired by alcohol. Drivers who don't drink over the limit, like myself, will not be tempted to do so by this offer because it has become ingrained not to, although I might be tempted to buy alcohol to drink when I finish my journey.
ReplyDeleteI note that none of the horror stories they quote about D&D are attributed to this particular offer. Hysterical overreaction as usual.
In Spain and France, you can buy beer, wine & spirits to your heart's content from motorway service stations and roadside garages. Woe betide you, however, if you get caught over the limit. In other words, you get treated like an adult; buy what you want, where you want and when you want so long as you stay within the law. Anyone (apart from fake charities/pressure groups) see a problem with this?
ReplyDeleteBill: no, not at all.
ReplyDeleteCM: I meant to say well done on reaching 1000!
@Bill: the article says that France has recently stopped petrol stations selling alcohol, but AIUI you can still buy alcoholic drinks at French motorway service stations.
ReplyDelete