Friendly Alcotest unit

Reaction Cyprus has set up a mobile alcotest unit in 2014 that has performed several actions since then. The last actions were 4 events during the second half of 2016 and the 1st quarter of 2017. The main idea of the action is to give the opportunity to citizens coming our of specific bars, clubs, restaurants etc to take a voluntary alcohol breath test in order for them to know the level of alcohol in their blood. The overall goal of the action is to raise awareness and inform the public of the dangers of combining alcohol and driving. The events took place all over Cyprus and in main tourist islands in Greece such as Mykonos, Santorini, Paros, Ios but also in Athens, Thessaloniki, Salamina, Paxoi. On 15/10/2016 a huge action took place in all cities in Cyprus with the help of hundreds of volunteers, off-duty members of the local police force, a local Greek Language institute "Knowledge Ark" and its students, taxi drivers. Thousands of alcohol tests took place and hundreds of drivers chose not to drive after the results of their tests. Free rides were offered from professional taxi drivers that volunteered. The same actions but at a smaller scale due to the transportation limitations happened in Greece. Results were also impressive and many drivers did not drive after learning that their alcohol levels exceeded the legal limits. Identical actions have already been planned for 2017 and with the help of volunteers, the local police forces, taxi drivers and many many other organizations they are a guaranteed success. By giving people the opportunity to be personally informed of the dangers of combining alcohol with driving and offering them the experience of a friendly alcotest that has no further implications on them is directly raising awareness. People of all ages have the opportunity to understand the effects of 1-2-5 drinks in their blood and their ability to drive home, carrying their best friends, spouses and family members. The results also gave us the ability to identify the percentage of drivers that actually drive to a venue and choose to drink alcohol while it also gave us the opportunity to realize that by informing people on a friendly tone has impressive results in changing their mind and not drive home.

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