CocaCola believes in sharing with Designated Drivers this Christmas

22 November 2013

Popular DJ Pete Snodden today teamed up with Coca-Cola to launch its annual Coca-Cola Designated Driver campaign.

The award-winning initiative, in partnership with the DOE and the PSNI, aims to reduce instances of drink driving and promote safety on the roads during the festive season by rewarding those who choose to be the designated driver over the Christmas period

From Friday 22nd November to Wednesday 1st January 2014, these safety-conscious consumers who assume the role of designated driver on a night out will be rewarded with up to three soft drinks courtesy of Coca-Cola in more than 200 well-known pubs, clubs and hotels across Northern Ireland.

Following on from Coca-Cola’s successful ‘Share a Coke’ campaign, the message for Designated Drivers this Christmas is ‘I believe in sharing’.

Peter Hughes, Customer Marketing Executive, Licensed Trade Coca-Cola HBC Ireland said:

’I believe in sharing’ is part of Coca-Cola’s brand ethos and there is no better time than Christmas to demonstrate the true spirit of the season by rewarding our consumers for making responsible decisions when planning a night out during the festive holiday period.”

Iain Greenway, Director of DOE Road Safety & Vehicle Regulation advised:

As we look forward to Christmas, we have a duty to our own families and friends to ensure we are there to celebrate with them. We also have to ensure other people are able to celebrate with their relatives and friends too.  The safest way to do that is to book a taxi or have a designated driver who will not drink alcohol

In 2012, five drivers or riders were killed and 35 were seriously injured in collisions attributed to alcohol or drugs.  All of these families’ lives changed forever the moment those drivers responsible took a drink and decided to drive.  I do not accept that anyone should ever die on our roads, which is why we now have an ambition of zero road deaths.

“My message to all drivers is clear: just one drink will impair your driving so Never Ever Drink and Drive.”

The 2013 Coca-Cola Designated Driver campaign, supported by the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Department of Environment goes live on Friday 22nd November 2013 and runsuntil Wednesday 1st January 2014.

Head of Operational Support, Superintendent David Moore added:

"We are delighted to support this very worthwhile campaign. Our message to road users is simple. Do not drink and drive. We do not want officers knocking on doors at any time of the year, but especially over Christmas and the New Year, to tell families that a loved one has been killed or seriously injured because someone decided to drive after drinking.”

Visit www.designateddriver.ie for a full list of participating licensed outlets across Northern Ireland that have signed up to activate the initiative. The newly updated website, also accessed throughwww.cokezone.ie, will allow designated drivers to download their free soft drink vouchers before they visit the venues as well as locate the outlets offering the service on the handy pub finder map.

A Designated Driver is defined as someone who is driving friends and family home from a night out socialising, while abstaining from alcohol for the evening. The Designated Driver may avail of FREE soft drinks from the Coca-Cola range over the course of the evening in participating licensed premises.

Coca-Cola will offer designated drivers a choice of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta Orange, Fanta Lemon, Deep RiverRock, still and sparkling, and Appletiser.