The jovial, classic BBC voiceover said: "Drinking and driving can be dangerous.
The jovial, classic BBC voiceover said: "Drinking and driving can be dangerous. Four single whiskies and the risk of accident can be twice as great." At this, four cartoon drams pop up on the screen like a fruit machine. ??Six singles and the risk can be six times as great,?? it continues, "eight, and it can be 25 times as great". With a jingle in the background and scenes of an office party in full swing, the clip ends with the words: "Don??t ask a man to drink and drive."
Fifty years on, this first TV advert against drink driving appears unbelievable, its frivolous tone almost shocking. At the time the only rule was that people should not drive if they were drunk and incapable, while the only test was whether they could walk straight along a white line painted on the floor of a police station.
The limit of 80mg per 100cc of blood came into force in January 1966 and the breathalyser a year later. This provoked howls of protests from a vociferous motoring lobby who believed in the freedom of the road like Toad of Toad Hall. The government??s message soon hardened with images of blood, smashed windscreens and ruined lives, and yet the target remained men, as though women simply didn??t drink and drive.
The limit remained unchanged until yesterday when, to bring us into line with Europe, it has been lowered to 50mg in Scotland. I may be in a minority of one, but I believe they shouldn??t have bothered on the simple premise that ??if it ain??t broke, don??t fix it??. It has taken a generation to shift public opinion from the 1960s office party above, to the social taboo of drunk driving today. People understood the old limit and the consequences of exceeding it.
For me it has echoes of the debate over alcohol and pregnancy where the government advice switched from no more than two or three glasses a week, to complete abstinence. There was no new scientific evidence, it was merely to avoid any possibility of sending out a mixed message. If I were a woman, I might find that a wee bit patronising.
With driving, what matters is not what MSPs think, but our collective view. If there really is a consensus in favour of the new limit, as Holyrood claims, then I admit I??m probably wrong.
F??Oz Dão 2012 £7.99 Tesco (13%)
Portuguese Dão is fast becoming one of my favourite reds at £7-8. You get spicy black cherries on the nose and savoury red fruit on the tongue.
Terras do Cigarrón, Godello 2012, £10 Villeneuve (13%)
Sauvignon-istas will enjoy the herbaceous, grassy-ness of this Spanish godello from Galicia, though there??s more texture and minerals.
Esporao Reserva 2011/12 £15.49 Great Grog (14%)
Pack in Portugal in the Alentejo this beautifully balanced blend of sweet spice and ripe berries has just the right grip of tannin.
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