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Sun Dec 5 18:58:17 GMT 2010

I am going to play Devil's Advocate here and ask the simple and obvious
question:  what evidence, if any, do we have that videos such as this one,
or any sort of "scare them / shock them" tactics, are effective in reducing
the incidence of drunk driving?  I am speaking of something more than
anecdotal evidence.  Has it been rigorously studied?  If not, then why not?
 Many thousands of dollars go into efforts such as this.  Does the data
justify the cost?

I agree that the video was gut wrenching and well produced and the special
effects were at the level of any major studio motion picture, but really now
- do they really work?

On Sun, Dec 5, 2010 at 1:54 AM, Charlene M Morris <cvmmorris at gmail.com>wrote:

> Thank YOU for your insight, Dr. Boekelaar!
>
> I agree that this video is a piece in the puzzle for public safety-- but
> one
> cannot dispute it was well done, believable and all too real. HOW the
> windshield shattering was done so perfectly, I do not know. All I have seen
> are the results.
>
> It reminds me of a few years ago, when my children were ~5 and 7. They
> could
> watch all sorts of violence in Star Wars and Indiana Jones movies, but when
> it came to Willie Wonka and the children being graphically sucked away in
> tubes and relegated to tv screens, it became all too real for them.
>
> Still, I told the cautionary tales of my ER experiences at the supper table
> and dare I say, both son and daughter (at 22 and 24) are still MVC-free. I
> pray that continues for all the world youth. Losing a child to a
> preventable
> incident is a pain I cannot fathom.
>
> cmm
>
> On Sun, Dec 5, 2010 at 6:39 AM, Michelle Boekelaar <mboekelaar at gmail.com
> >wrote:
>
> > Thanks for sharing the TAC video compilation - blast from the past seeing
> > some of those ones from 20 years ago! (God, the fashions...)
> > Those videos that aim to shock do make a difference in public awareness
> > about their behaviour, and the TAC (or equivalent in other states in
> > Australia) certainly do a great job of producing new advertisements and
> > timing them around the holiday season when more people are partying
> and/or
> > driving long distances.
> >
> > The improvement in the road toll obviously isn't solely due to the
> > commercials - in addition to better vehicle and road design, there is
> > reasonably strict legislation and enforcement against drink and
> > drug-affected driving, not to mention compulsory use of seatbelts and
> child
> > restraints. Finally there are numerous campaigns against fatigued driving
> -
> > a massive problem here in Western Australia where driving for 1400km or
> 15
> > hours means you haven't even left the state... Not only are there public
> > awareness campaigns including big billboards near major highways (my
> > favourites "Drowsy drivers die" and "Stop. Revive. Survive."), many
> > roadhouses and country stores on main roads offer free coffee for
> drivers,
> > and rest areas where drivers can stop and nap in their cars.
> >
> > Providing trauma care here, geography conspires against us. Working at
> the
> > state trauma centre in Perth, our capital (a mere 3215km away from the
> > furtherest reaches of the state, where even if they cross the border to
> the
> > Northern Territory for tertiary hospital care its a 830km journey by
> road)
> > its not uncommon to have trauma cases arrive who have crashed in the
> > country
> > and not been found for hours, sometimes even days. The golden day instead
> > of
> > the golden hour, perhaps! Unfortunately with large distances and a small
> > population, compounded by harsh weather conditions and less than ideal
> > roads
> > in many areas, the road toll improvements aren't as good as we would
> like,
> > however there are ongoing improvements in the system and a dedicated and
> > hardworking group of people striving to improve from the remote nursing
> > posts, to isolated country doctors, to the tertiary centres. Great
> > educational resources, including this list, are improving our collective
> > knowledge and I thank you all for sharing your wisdom and experience with
> > juniors like me.
> >
> > I'd like to wish everyone on this list a happy and safe holidays...
> > particularly if you come to visit Perth since I am on call over
> Christmas!
> > Despite the distances, this is a beautiful part of the world, and nice
> and
> > warm compared to Europe right now.
> >
> > Best wishes for the rest of the year and into 2011. I look forward to
> more
> > insight from this list in the future.
> > Dr Michelle Boekelaar
> > --
> > trauma-list : TRAUMA.ORG <http://trauma.org/>
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> > http://www.trauma.org/index.php?/community/
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Blessed are the cheesemakers, for they will bring Gouda!
> --cmm 3/10
> --
> trauma-list : TRAUMA.ORG
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> http://www.trauma.org/index.php?/community/
>

-- 
'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

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A drunk driving video from Australia-- that MADE a difference