Singapore – Diageo has launched its flagship programme on anti-drunk driving in Singapore entitled ‘Wrong Side of the Road’ (WOSTR), which aims to educate the public and help them understand the consequences of drunk driving. Developed together with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the programme offers an interactive experience to help individuals understand the effects of alcohol and the shame and stigma that comes with drunk driving.
In Singapore, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs, over 1,000 people were caught by the Traffic Police for drunk driving in the first nine months of 2021, about the same number as the same period last year. 117 people were injured in drunk-driving accidents from January to September 2021, an increase from 103 over the same period last year. On average, one person is killed every month due to an accident related to drunk driving.
WSOTR is a learning experience presented through a series of real-life scenarios with three drunk drivers in the format of a pre-recorded video call. As each story unfolds, the resource invites the participant to ask increasingly honest questions that will resonate with all drivers such as “Did you feel pressure to drive?”, “What was going through your head?” and “How did your family react?”. At the end of the module, participants will be shown a summary of their learnings and directed towards other online resources that can offer additional advice and support. Since its launch in Great Britain in May 2021, WSOTR has been rolled out across more than 20 markets worldwide. Singapore will be the second SEA market to launch WSOTR after Thailand.
Gabriel Opoku-Assare, corporate relations director for Diageo SEA, shared, “We are committed to changing attitudes towards drunk driving and to show through our industry-leading programmes that there is always a better option when it comes to drunk driving. Through WSOTR, we want to expose drivers to real-life situations and share compelling stories about drunk driving that may save their lives, their loved ones, and even innocent bystanders. We want to empower them to make a conscious choice.”
Diageo has a long-standing commitment to promoting positive drinking through its 10-year sustainability action plan, Society 2030: Spirit of Progress. As part of the Spirit of Progress targets, WSOTR aims to change the attitudes towards drunk driving of five million drivers across the world by 2030. It builds on DRINKiQ, Diageo’s dedicated responsible drinking platform, which has already reached out to hundreds of thousands of users across SEA in partnership with companies such as Grab. Diageo has also pioneered programmes such as Smashed, a learning resource for teachers and facilitators to educate young people on the dangers of underage drinking, which is live in Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines.
Supporting the launch of Wrong Side of the Road in Singapore, Diageo is teaming up with SGAG and its cast of stand-up comedians, thespians and digital content creators to deliver this important message of responsible drinking to youth through impactful humour. The SGAG campaign will run in June 2022.
