Polish Vodka Manufacturer launches a Social campaign “AlkoCasco – breathalyzer in every car”

SOPLICA, a Polish vodka manufacturer, has launched an on-line petition to request EU legislators to introduce a new law requiring European car manufacturers to install breathalyzers in new cars. For further information visit www.alkocasco.pl In 2007 the Polish police stopped nearly 24 000 drivers with BAC levels above the allowed levels (i.e. 0,02 ‰). SOPLICA, carried a survey to asses the problem of “unintentionally” drunk drivers. The results of that survey showed that at least 20% of Poles drive even though they are unsure of whether they are totally sober. According to the survey, 64% of Poles have witnessed a driver being coaxed by others to have a “small drink” and 10% confessed to driving a car although somebody warned them that they may still be under the influence of alcohol. The survey also showed that nearly 60% of drivers would be happy to use a breathalyzer if it was a basic accessory in a car. 71% declared that if it showed that they were over the allowed BAC levels, they would refrain from driving Following these results SOPLICA initiated a social campaign “AlkoCasco” with the aim of highlighting the problem of “unintentionally drunk drivers” and popularize breathalyzers as a solution to the problem. To that aim it disseminated widely the results of its survey and distributed over 1 million breathalyzers to citizens. It also created a web page, www.alkocasco.pl, which is available both in Polish and English and includes a virtual breathalyzer. In the next stage of the campaign SOPLICA intends to collect signatures from Poles – and not just them – in a special document addressed to the European Commission. The petition advocates the introduction of a new EU law, which would oblige car manufacturers to introduce breathalyzers as obligatory elements of a car's safety system. Signatures under this petition are being collected in Poland during special events in shopping malls and also via the www.alkocasco.pl web page. Breathalyzers in cars: In 2004 Saab created a special gadget for its cars called Alcokey. Car keys had a special breathalyzer attached to it. Read more at http://autoweb.com.au/cms/A_101770/newsarticle.html In 2007 Volvo introduced its „Alcoguard”. To be able to ignite the car the driver had to blow into a special breathalyzer. Read more at http://www.wheels24.co.za/Wheels24/News/General_News/0,,1369-1372-2094_2176791,00.html