Students drive home road safety message with beer mats

STUDENTS launching an anti-drink driving campaign today are looking for a sponsor to take their initiative nationwide.

Up to 30,000 beer mats, with the message, ‘What’s driving you’, will be distributed to almost 30 pubs in North Cork over the coming days.

The campaign, devised by the transition-year students of St Mary’s secondary school in Mallow, and backed by the town’s Vintners’ Association and five local taxi companies, is aimed at next weekend’s bank holiday revellers.

Twenty-seven people died on the nation’s roads last March - three of whom died between March 17-19.

The beer mats, which feature the phone numbers of five supporting taxi companies, is part of the Young Social Innovators (YSI) competition designed to encourage students to make a change in society.

YSI co-ordinator Claire O’Farrell said the students picked road safety as their social issue. “Almost every student knew someone who had been involved in a road traffic accident,” she said. “They firmly believe that pre-drivers should be taught in a school setting. The beer mat initiative was designed to change attitudes.”

The campaign will be launched today by the AA’s Conor Faughnan and distributed by the Vintners.

Mr Faughnan commended the students for their initiative. “But Ireland’s culture of tolerance of drink driving has to change if we are to stop the carnage on our roads,” he said.