A new wave of digital initiatives has started to shift South Africa’s drink-driving statistics, as the country continues to fight related road fatalities.
While enforcement and public awareness campaigns have long played a role in addressing the issue, they often fall short of driving lasting behavioural change.
By embracing interactive storytelling, gamification, and mobile-first platforms, alcohol companies are redefining what road safety education can look like in the digital age, reaching audiences in more personal ways.
The annual Easter weekend in South Africa is overshadowed by the grim spectre of road fatalities. While multiple factors contribute to these losses, the detrimental influence of alcohol impairment remains a preventable cause of death and injury.
However, the 2025 Easter weekend offered a beacon of hope, with a significant and encouraging drop in fatalities from 307 road deaths in 2024, to 167 deaths this year – a substantial 45.6% reduction.
This good news underscores the progress is possible, and the fact that new types of road safety awareness efforts are, to an extent, having an impact. Building on this should be a priority.
This demands more than the routine safety messages that are sent out during holiday periods period, it requires innovative approaches that resonate with drivers and shifts behaviour.
Simply put, traditional awareness campaigns, while well-intentioned, sometimes struggle to cut through the noise. It is time to embrace more dynamic, technologically driven methods to make our roads safer.
For years, the response to drink driving has relied heavily on enforcement and conventional public service campaigns.
While the deterrent effect of visible policing, such as the essential work carried out by the South African Police Service, is undeniable, and while general awareness campaigns play a role in setting social norms, their limitations in achieving change are apparent.
Recognising this efficacy gap, companies are starting to invest in pioneering digital platforms designed not merely to inform, but to engage individuals on a more visceral, personal level, moving beyond passive reception to active participation and reflection.
One such initiative, the 'Wrong Side of the Road' programme, by Diageo South Africa, SA’s leading premium spirits company, leverages the power of immersive storytelling.
Through an online platform – easily accessible through smart phones - users can access interactive, pre-recorded video calls to connect participants with individuals who have directly experienced the severe consequences of drink driving.
Featuring relatable narratives, including the candid testimony of former footballer Junior Khanye on the impact of drink driving on his life and career, the experience transcends abstract warnings.
“I crashed into four cars. Two cars were beyond repair and two I had to repair. I lost a R2 million house I had at the time as well as the car. What is sadder are the injuries I caused on other people. One of the motorists involved in the accident was in a comma for three days and others badly injured. It is regrettable,” shares Khanye during the digital engagement.
Such direct engagement fosters empathy by allowing users to engage directly, posing questions and witnessing the emotional and social fallout – fractured families, damaged reputations, profound regret.
It moves the conversation from statistics to lived reality. The 'Wrong Side of the Road' programme has been highly effective, with over 83,000 drivers reached and 92% showing significant attitudinal change towards responsible drinking and road safety.
Complementing the focus on consequence is the 'Sober vs Drink Driving' initiative, which was launched in collaboration with the JMPD and Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) specifically ahead of this year’s high-risk Easter window.
This programme employs gamification through an accessible digital experience. It allows users to simulate driving tasks – measuring control, reaction times, awareness, braking, and attention – under both sober and simulated impaired conditions.
By controlling a virtual ball, the user must navigate through numerous obstacles. However, achievement in the game is measured through a mirrored impaired ball – in essence, the user is competing in a game against an impaired self.
This provides immediate feedback on how significantly alcohol degrades essential driving skills, even at levels drivers might mistakenly perceive as safe. This 'learning by doing', albeit virtual, offers an objective demonstration of risk.
Its launch, strategically timed and amplified through partnerships, including CCBSA's established 'Respect the Road' platform, represents a concerted effort to deploy innovative tools when they are needed most.
These initiatives represent more than isolated campaigns. They embody a strategic shift towards leveraging technology in new ways for social benefit. Diageo's commitment includes ambitious goals, such as changing the attitudes of five million people towards drink driving globally.
The development of 'Sober vs Drink Driving' as a digital tool offers scalability and reach, allowing engagement with audiences, particularly younger demographics, through the platforms they regularly use.
Ultimately, eradicating the scourge of drink driving requires a multi-faceted approach encompassing robust enforcement, sustained education, and a fundamental shift in societal norms. However, achieving that shift demands that we move beyond established methods and embrace innovation.
Digital platforms, gamification, and immersive storytelling offer powerful, engaging avenues to influence behaviour change in ways traditional media cannot easily replicate.
The goal remains clear: to make every journey a safe one, ensuring that the tragedies disproportionately marking our holiday periods become a relic of the past.
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