Premier urges Victorians to give a designated driver gift voucher this Christmas

02 Dec 2011

MEDIA RELEASE: Friday 2 December 2011

This Christmas Premier Ted Baillieu is urging Victorians to give a potentially life-saving gift.

To coincide with the busy festive season, the Premier today released TAC designated driver gift vouchers that can be given to family and friends over the holiday season.

The gift vouchers can be found at www.tac.vic.gov.au and entitles the recipient to a lift home from the gift giver after a night out.
Mr Baillieu took to the streets of Melbourne this morning to distribute the vouchers, urging Victorians once again to think about road safety.

"Victoria has come a long way in 40 years of reducing the road toll, but we must keep the community talking and thinking about road safety," Mr Baillieu said.

"This is not only a novel gift idea, it's another way of raising a conversation with your family and friends about reducing their risk on the roads, so we can all have a safe holiday period.

"We've had terrible tragedies in the last month which has only highlighted the importance of making every journey a safe one, especially in the lead-up to Christmas.

"It's up to every road user to take responsibility for safety on our roads. I urge Victorians to use these vouchers in the spirit of gift giving, but also to talk to loved ones about the dangers of risky driving and the importance of road safety," Mr Baillieu said.
TAC CEO Janet Dore said the vouchers would act as a fun and quirky way to combat a very serious issue and they would inspire Victorians to look after their family and friends.

"This might be more of a fun, light-hearted concept, and while it might not seem like a big deal, giving this gift could literally save lives," Ms Dore said.

Drink driving remains one of the biggest killers on our roads, with about 25 per cent of all drivers and riders killed on Victorian roads having a blood alcohol reading higher than .05.

"These numbers prove drink-driving can be deadly, so we want people to avoid the risk this Christmas and hopefully these vouchers will help them find a safe way home," Ms Dore said.

Mr Baillieu launched the TAC's Christmas enforcement campaign with Victoria Police last week, and in October launched the Talk the Toll Down campaign which involves 60 regional newspapers urging communities to discuss road safety.