19 Comments

So a policeman, in the dark, from across the street or from behind you in your rear-view mirror can see the size of your pupils and thus make the judgment weather to stop you on suspicion that you may be driving while on drugs?

It is my understanding that police cannot pull you over without reason to believe you have committed or are committing an offense... I don't think "I pulled him over because from accross the street, in the dark his eyes looked funny" sound right...

Besides that, when the actual police officer is talking, he says nothing about looking at the drivers eyes.

This will freak out some stoner kids, but it is massively misinforming a much wider audience, and is very unclear in communicating the "grey areas" that the woman in the film speaks of
matthew
2009-08-17 16:13:00

Mathew, when I was in my teens I went through a period of being pulled over and breathalysed all the time. I was teetotal so was always the one to drive too and from clubs and I actually managed to tally 5 tests in seven days once. It taught me the patter down to a tee and to be honest, I think being young, and driving away from a bar is reason enough for suspicion. That suspicion is enough for a stop check, just as bug eyed kids in a car would be too. Its easy to spot them in city centres at night if you know what to look for.

As for the endless stops? I didnt mind them as I was always 100% confident there wasn't a problem. I guess that's the point isn't it? To encourage people to not take the risk?
nick
2009-08-17 17:02:10

Will the next ad be about policemen waiting in 24 hour Tesco's by the crisps section?

'Drug driving. Your need for late-night munchies will give you away'

Not enough to deter potheads, but its always interesting to see a bunch of bush babies driving a car.
Sazzle
2009-08-17 17:05:09

I thought the ad was supposed to be aired this evening? Before Coronation Street? I seemed to miss it...was it actually shown? And it is pretty easy to clock who's on it from outside the car or even over the road, if you have decent eyesight. Whole thing nice and creepy as well, which can't hurt.

Jess
Jess
2009-08-18 01:26:21

I want to know what drugs they had taken, because if it makes you fish, bog-eyed it must be good... oh wait, I think I remember now... no, it's gone... I guess the drugs really don't work.
Adam
2009-08-18 01:51:04

I am not sure about this advert - There big eerie eyes certainly gets you attention, however the message and deterrent is not very strong.
Mandy
2009-08-18 08:26:21

Not "don't drive under the influence of drugs because you might hurt someone," but rather, "don't drive under the influence because you might get caught."
Chris
2009-08-18 11:34:51

Paranoid? You will be.
I've watched this quite a few times now, and the woman in the back seat makes me laugh every time: And that's a busy city centre, shouldn't those coppers be watching the road?
Brunowski
2009-08-18 13:03:44

Very good point Mr. Chris.

Does anyone else find it funny that we have adverts reminding us that you're not supposed to break the law?
jurgen
2009-08-18 13:28:22

Ye every government based advert on british television is about fear. Pay your car tax, or we'll destroy your car. pay your TV license or we'll send you to prison. Don't pop pills when driving, or we'll arrest you. Give us reasons other than consiquences and you might make the slightest bit of impact on people ... or better yet, just stop using dissasociated scare tactics as people have proved time and time again THEY DON"T WORK. Even the more recent drink drive ads still cause the instant subconscious reaction of "well thats not me driving the car, so if I drink that won't happen", this is just basic human psychology.

And without being pedantic ... 'drug driving'? So driving after having a cigarette? a cup of coffee? a beer? Or do they infact mean something specific? And im sorry but without proper controlled population studies they can't measure the affect of individual drugs on drivers, and this is research that hasn't been done. All this ad does to me is reassure me that the government and police peddle false information about a nameless drug in a pathertic way to put people off substance abuse (assuming its not a tax generating substance of course!).

If I get pulled over and get in trouble with the police for smoking a joint behind the wheel I want the punishment to be the use of a controlled substance. Not that it may or may not impair my driving ... as there's no evidence to support such a case; irrelivant of perceptions.
n
2009-08-18 13:43:07

I watched this with no sound and the stupid bit is that the commercial has been made with CGI making the perpetrators look like a bunch of gnomes from 'Final Fantasy'. Hardly convincing unless you're an elf.
John Hooton
2009-08-18 14:02:02

The look just is not quite right! The mannerism of the people is wrong. The eyes are wrong.

One of my friends' children has a drug problem so do a few people I have come accross in the past.

Like this is going to make them think twice!

Think again!

Paul Phillips
Paul Phillips
2009-08-18 14:15:13

I know it's meant to be an overexagerated attention grabbing ad, but I think they should have made the eyes a little more realistic. Dilated pupils, not massively enlarged eyeballs making them all resemble small treedwelling mammals at night. This is just comedy scare tactics.
If anything it makes me want to take drugs and watch this ad just to laugh at their oversized eyes.
Slow Loris
2009-08-18 14:24:26

I to cannot see that a police officer would be able to see your eyes from inside a car at night. I cannot see inside card when I am driving.

The way I see it you would have to already been stopped before an officer could get close enough to see your eyes.
Trevor Collins
2009-08-18 17:29:31

The coppers were only looking at the idiot girl in the back seat. And she wasn't even driving! What a load of tosh.
Req
2009-08-18 21:35:41

reminds me of a CR blog featured video for Grizzly Bear with Two Weeks, directed by Patrick Daughters. equally odd and fascinating LINK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjecYugTbIQ
Vic
2009-08-19 20:31:06

Hmm, while I very much support the campaign, i'm not sure how successful it will be on its own. I just read in the car news section at Exchange and Mart that Peterborough council are releasing a series of adverts where victims of drug driving talk about real-life cases. http://tiny.cc/nGgxS I reckon they might be more effective, similar to the shocking drink drive ads that demonstrated the devastating effects it can have. The "eyes" adverts don't really convey that same message
ExchangeandMart
2009-08-21 15:54:10

Matthew - the cops are allowe dto pull you - ever heard of random breath test?

N - when I was young, dumb and full of c#m and smoked loads of dope, I went with all the arguments about - it's better than alcohol, it doens't impair driving etc. Well, I'm no reformed anti-dopehead. But, whilst I agree alcohol casues lots more issues re:fighting, vandalism, drink driving etc - dope smoking and driving don't mix. If you've ever been hammered, had space cakes or a few bongs - you seriously tell me you could drive fine? I stopped because I got older BUT also becasue draw went from resin and bush to skunk. Skunk does make you mental in the end. YOu cain skunk, you'll get paranoid etc. I then went onto work in psychiatry and more kids than ever are coming in with psychosis from caining skunk. Way more than when people hammered resin and bush. To get back to the point, the ad is crap. It isn't going to stop kids, just as much as putting pictures on fag packets stops people smokiing or hiding fas behind the counter will stop people smoking. people don't smoke because they see the "brightly lit counter", they moke to look older, be cool etc. Sadly the ads are about peoples careers not geting results. I genuinely belive there are 2 ways to stop drug takin. 1. Shoot dealers and users (not going to hapen and I appreciate I'm being daft) or 2. legalise /decriminalise - so taking crime out of it. But that's too liberal / utopian for most people who no nothing anbout addiction or drug abuse. Walk a mile in another man's shoes etc.
HopeX317
2009-08-26 01:34:55

My typing is rushed and not checked - not because I'm stoned! :)
HopeX317
2009-08-26 01:41:13

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