There is a summer that never stops inventing new ways to keep us from going home. Beaches that empty at three in the morning, clubs that push the music a little further, streets that seem made to test the sense of invincibility of those between twenty and thirty years old. And then, suddenly, someone decides to say: enough.
The campaign “Tonight I Drive” starts this weekend, from the Roman coast and Salento. The State Police, the ANIA Foundation, the unions of dance clubs and beach operators, FederBalneari Italia. A historic alliance: institutions, insurers, and those whose job is to sell fun come together to remind young people that fun and safety are not enemies, but two things that can go hand in hand if someone makes a small gesture.
The strategy
The gesture is both ancient and very modern at the same time. Someone, in the group, decides not to drink. Because someone has to bring the others home. It’s called the “designated driver.” It used to be called “the smartest one,” or “the one with the most comfortable seat.” Now they give it an official name and offer a non-alcoholic aperitif, a disposable breathalyzer, maybe a free ticket for next time. Nothing heroic. Just a bit of civic sense disguised as courtesy among friends.
Read more Skoda Peaq, series production begins
The Highway Police will be there, in the clubs, chatting, handing out leaflets, projecting videos. So besides the checks on the roads leading to the sea (those will happen, and they will be strict) there will also be what the Highway Police call “presence.” That is, dialogue. That thing that road safety campaigns usually forget: speaking the language of those who are dancing, not of those reading the highway code by candlelight.
It’s a small thing, almost trivial. Yet, if you think about it, it’s one of the few sensible ideas still circulating. In a country where every summer the roads fill with statistics that no one wants to read, someone has decided to bet on common sense instead of just sanctions. To reward those who drive sober instead of just punishing those who don’t. To turn giving up alcohol into a shared experience, not a mortification. Nice, isn’t it?
Read more Marquez: “I don’t need Rossi and he doesn’t need me. I respect him, but we are different”
