A Brussels police zone has joined forces with an unofficial police monitoring site on Facebook to warn users against driving under the influence ahead of the holiday period.
The Bruxelles-Ixelles police zone jumped on board when the Facebook page Alertes Contrôles De Police - Infos Bruxelles decided to start the awareness campaign.
The Facebook page is a crowdsourced monitoring police activities Brussels, in which users regularly share posts about road accidents and driving conditions — but which also serves to warn others about police checks and operations.
The campaign includes a photo featuring a taxi driver, a paramedic, two police officers and a funeral service vehicle, along with a caption reading: "Fun night? Choose who you will be going home with."
"We are very repressive when it comes to combining alcohol use and driving," David Stevens, the bicycle police brigade's chief inspector, who is featured in the campaign, told Bruzz.
The campaign between the two unlikely partners was taken from an idea originally spotted in Norway, according to the Facebook post, with Stevens saying that not joining in the initiative would've been a "missed opportunity."
"Such campaigns normally cost a lot, the Facebook page in question has nearly 150,000 followers — that's far from nothing," he added.
The Facebook page's administrator, who chose to remain anonymous, said that despite their page serving to flag police actions in the city, they thought encouraging prudence behind the wheel in "a playful way" was important.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
