Gifts, not body bags
By Jeff Cummings
Metro / Edmonton
December 10, 2008

Revellers will be given a stern reminder by Mothers Against Drunk Driving about the dangers of drunk driving at a number of city pubs this holiday season — something that will be wrapped up in a body bag.

Craig Mansfield, vice-president for the Edmonton chapter of MADD Canada, says bar patrons will now notice large, interactive posters inside bar and restaurant washrooms that resemble zippered body bags.

Once the bag is unzipped, a facemask is unveiled with a message that reads, “The last thing your loved one should unwrap during the holiday season. Designate a driver.”
“We want people to think,” said Mansfield. “When you are out drinking, how are you getting home?”

Mansfield says the $20,000 body bags campaign is a first for the local chapter as it tries to target 20-somethings who are more prone to getting behind the wheel drunk than any other age group.

“I think this is a fantastic idea,” said Fern Jordan, whose 11-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver in 1988.

“Something like this has never been seen before and I think it would have a huge impact.”
Jordan says the body bag posters may also remind others to stop someone from getting behind the wheel of a vehicle while intoxicated.

“It’s very powerful,” she said.

The campaign, ending in the first week of January, will also include radio ads that will remind listeners to not allow letting their loved ones open a “body bag” this holiday season, said Mansfield.

City cops made 1,955 charges for impaired driving in 2007, up from 1,546 in 2006, according to figures from the Edmonton Police Service.