Don’t drink and drive: Minister and creators warn of drink driving dangers this World Cup season

Football fans are reminded not to drink and drive this summer, as THINK! is launching a new summer campaign designed to encourage drivers to choose alcohol-free alternatives when planning to drive, with the message: “If you’re planning to drive, it’s best to have none”.

Timed to the World Cup, a summer of major international football, the campaign combines media partnerships, creator content and stakeholder communications to place road safety messaging inside matchday moments.

The campaign is further supported by sports creators Zac Djellab (@zacdjellab) and Ollie Thomas (@TalkCPFC) who have produced content across England fixtures.

Zac Djellab’s content is filmed around England’s friendly against Costa Rica and is published ahead of the opening tournament fixture, encouraging drivers to drink 0%. Meanwhile, Ollie Thomas captures the atmosphere of England’s first group-stage match from a live fan environment, delivering an in-the-moment perspective that extends the campaign into real matchday settings.

The campaign is designed to reach audiences across the full football journey, from pre-match build-up at home to live environments in pubs and fan zones, normalising alcohol-free choices for drivers at every stage of matchday behaviour.

By combining football media, creator storytelling and stakeholder amplification, THINK! aims to embed road safety messaging into football culture at scale during one of the summer’s biggest sporting moments.

The Minister for Local Transport Lilian Greenwood, also warns of the dangers of drink driving during the World Cup. The government is taking action to tackle drink driving, through our Road Safety Strategy, which has consulted on lowering drink-driving limits. The government has received a substantial number of responses and are considering these thoroughly before announcing next steps. We will publish a summary of responses and the government response in due course.

Lilian Greenwood, Local Transport Minister, said: “Drink-driving ruins lives, and even small amounts of alcohol can impair judgement and increase the risk of a serious collision. Choosing to drive completely alcohol-free is the safest option for everyone on our roads.

“This THINK! campaign is a smart and timely way to reach drivers during the World Cup, using trusted media, creators and partners to remind people of the 0% options available before they decide to drink.

“Our new Road Safety Strategy, the first in over a decade, will save lives by tackling the root causes of deaths on our roads. We have set an ambitious target to reduce deaths and serious injuries by 65% by 2035 and have consulted on multiple new measures, including a lower drink drive limit and a minimum learning period.”